Boy Bonds
by Snakequeen-in-Norway
Summary: Season 2. Kurt, Blaine, Finn, and perhaps a few others do some bonding as they cope with the good and the bad, the normal and the abnormal of the weeks following 'Original Song', learning more about themselves and each other along the way. Canon through 'Original Song', no 'Night of Neglect' onward. Family would be the 3rd genre if I was allowed, and Hurt/Comfort would be the 4th.
1. Chapter 1: Together

**Authors Note: When I started writing this my laptop was broken, which made all of my notes for my HP & AF fanfics inaccessible. Well, I didn't **_**have**_** notes for **_**Glee**_** fanfics, because I didn't even start reading them till after my laptop broke. Everything I needed to write **_**these**_** ideas was in my head (or by then jotted down in random notebooks). My brain was screaming **_**Glee **_**fanfic ideas at me, and since I actually could write these ones now without the info that's on my broken laptop I decided I would. All my **_**Glee **_**fics are and wil be Klaine (I cannot believe I'm using a name smoosh, I really can't) with doses of other characters thrown in, especially Furt (there one is again! Gah!) brotherness (which seems to be rather lacking in the actual show after that ep…)**

**Thank you for trying out my fic and I hope you enjoy it. I am a sap & a drama queen but also a fairly good writer. I hope you enjoy my story, in spite of its somewhat lame title .**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: **_**Glee**_** is a TV show; if I owned **_**Glee**_** I would be producing a TV show. I am not producing a TV show, I am writing a story. Therefore, obviously, I do not own **_**Glee**_**.**

**Chapter One: Together**

Finn was sitting on his bed, blasting zombies with his plasma ray gun. He was halfway through level six, the one in the 'deserted' castle, when there was a tap on the door.

"Come in," he said without taking his eyes from the screen, where he was currently battling the sexy zombie princess and her scantily-dressed minions.

Finn's step-brother Kurt poked his heavily hair-sprayed head around the doorframe.

"I'm going to the store; I'm all out of shea butter face cream. Do you need anything?"

"Nah, dude," said Finn, flicking the controller with his thumbs. "I'm good."

"You sure? They're having a two-for-one sale on apricot exfoliants; it's very good for your skin, clears away all the dead cells and gives the skin a healthy glow."

Finn glanced up from the zombies on the screen to his step-brother in the doorway.

"Um, no, I'm good," he said. "Thanks for the offer though."

Kurt shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just don't coming crawling to me when you start getting all scaly like a lizard."

"Wait, I'm gonna look like a lizard?" said Finn, looking back up just in time to get sucker punched in the gut by a zombie girl wearing a miniskirt and heals with only half a face.

"It isn't pretty," confirmed Kurt.

"On second thought, why don't you go ahead and pick me up one of those apricot whatevers—"

"Exfoliants, Finn," said Kurt.

"Yeah, that," said Finn, turning back to his video game.

"You're going to burn your retinas out with that thing, you know," said Kurt.

"Whatever," said Finn.

Kurt rolled his eyes expressively, a gesture that was completely lost on the video-game-absorbed Finn. "Okay. I'll be back in a couple of hours. Try not to burn the house down while I'm gone."

Finn chuckled, eyes still fixed on the screen. "I'll try not to."

*****BB*****

After a few more rounds of zombie slaying Finn put down the game console, switched off the TV, and went downstairs to get himself something to eat.

Ten minutes after Finn had settled himself on the living room sofa with a grilled cheese sandwich, a glass of milk, and the Cavaliers vs. Clippers basketball game, the doorbell rang. Since his mom and Burt were out for the day and Kurt was still at the store Finn pushed himself off the couch and went to answer the door.

"Hey," said Blaine, hands tucked into his jean pockets, when Finn had opened the door.

"Oh, hey," said Finn.

He'd met Blaine a few times before; at Rachel's disastrous house part and a couple times when he had come home from school with Kurt. They'd exchanged a few words, but the two didn't really know each other well; Blaine went to Dalton Academy with Kurt, which was the only reason Finn and Blaine had met at all.

"Is Kurt home?" asked Blaine.

"No," said Finn, shaking his head. "He stepped out to buy shay cream or butter cream or something. He didn't mention you were coming over…"

"No, he wouldn't have," said Blaine. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by. But if this is a bad time…"

"Oh, no," said Finn. "Come in. Kurt should be back soon. I was just watching some basketball if you want to…"

"Yeah, I'd love to," said Blaine eagerly, stepping into the house and shutting the door behind him. Cleveland vs. LA, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Who's winning?"

"The Cavaliers at the moment, but just barely."

Blaine heard the surprise in his boyfriend's step-brother's voice and laughed.

"I'm actually a really big sports fan. Not all of us gay boys are as, well, flaming as Kurt."

Finn stuttered, embarrassed.

"I—no—dude—I didn't mean—"

Blaine cut him off. "It's fine, Finn," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not offended."

"Oh, good," said Finn. "'Cause I've been accused of having a problem with gay dudes before, and I really don't—"

"Relax," said Blaine, holding up his hands. "I wasn't accusing you of anything. I know you don't have a problem with gay guys. You're Kurt's _brother_. People in your family take things way too seriously."

Finn grinned sheepishly. "Kurt must be rubbing off on me."

"Heaven help us all," said Blaine.

The two boys settled themselves onto the couch after Blaine declined Finn's offer to make him a grilled cheese sandwich.

"So, no hard feelings about us whooping your asses at Regionals?" asked Finn with a grin.

Blaine grinned back. "Nope. I won something much better anyway."

Finn gave him a blank look. "What?"

"Kurt," said Blaine simply.

"So, uh, you and Kurt are officially together now?" said Finn, watching the ball on the screen fly from one player's hands to another's.

"Yep," said Blaine, nodding. Then, "You say that as though there should be a 'finally' at the end of it."

"Well, dude," said Finn, "he has been crushing on you for, like, ages." He looked at the other boy on the couch next to him. "Dude, you did know that, right? I mean I'm not exactly the most observant guy on the planet and it was pretty obvious to me."

To Finn's surprise, it was the usual dapper Warbler's turn to look sheepish.

"You're not the only guy with less-than-stellar observation skills," he admitted. "Looking back it seems so obvious that we had chemistry right from the start but, I don't know, I just didn't _see_ it." He sighed. "I really liked Kurt. I'd never clicked with anybody like that so quickly. I guess I didn't want to mess that up by thinking about any other feelings we may or may not—okay, did—have for each other. I didn't _let_ myself like him in that way because I could see him struggling with what was already going on in his life, I didn't want to add to that." Blaine gave a snort of ironic laughter. "So on Valentines Day, when he, well, kind of told me, in a round-about-way, that he liked me, I was completely surprised. I shouldn't have been, but I was." Blaine laughed again and ran a hand through his curly hair, for once free of its confining gel. "But he left me some ambiguity, so I clung to it and ignored what was staring me in the face. I'm good at that. Truth was I was terrified. I didn't know how to be somebody's boyfriend. Hell, I still don't. What if I didn't live up to his expectations? What if I lost him?"

"So what changed your mind?"

"Kurt sang 'Blackbird'. It was a silly thing, really. I mean, I'd heard him sing lots of times before. Only this time…I just couldn't stop staring at him. It was like somebody had finally flicked a switch in my brain. Like "Duh, Blaine, _that's_ how you feel about him."

Finn shifted in his seat, starting to feel sorry he had asked.

"Uh, okay. Cool dude."

"Sorry," said Blaine. "I know it's weird; it's your step-brother I'm talking about."

"No, dude, it's cool," said Finn. "Really. I'm glad he's happy. I know he really likes you; after he met you you were all he could talk about. He even had a picture of you in his locker."

Blaine blushed. "Really? I hope it didn't get annoying or anything…"

"Nah, dude," said Finn. "It was kind of cute actually. I mean, Mercedes wasn't too happy when he kind of ditched her to hang out with you"—Blaine winced—"but no worries, dude, they worked it out. As his brother, though, I'm obliged to warn you that if you hurt him you're going to get your ass kicked hard core."

Blaine could tell that, despite his slightly joking manner, Finn was deadly serious. He held up his hands.

"I have no intention of hurting him, truly."

"You'd better not," said Finn seriously. "Kurt has been through enough crap in his life already. He may not be the easiest person to live with—he's high strung, and high maintenance, and sometimes he can be almost as bossy as Rachel, but…"

"I know," said Blaine with a fond smile. "How can you help but love him?"

Finn nodded. "The New Directions, we're a family. I know it sounds super corny and all, but we are. We might have our own issues within the group, but we're there for each other when it counts."

"I can tell," said Blaine, his smile just a little bit forlorn.

"You're a part of that family now, you know," said Finn. "I know we don't really know you that well, but we got your back, dude."

"Thanks," said Blaine, and he meant it.

*****BB*****

"I'm home!" called Kurt, balancing his shopping bags on his hip as he closed the front door behind him. "Finn?"

"In here," Finn responded.

Kurt followed the sounds of his step-brother's voice and the TV into the living room, his arms laded with bulging shopping bags.

"Sorry I took so long," he said from behind the bags. "The store was really crowded and then I couldn't decide between coconut lime verbena and honey almond—Blaine!"

The curly-haired warbler laughed as the shopping bags tumbled out of Kurt's arms and onto the floor. He immediately scrambled to pick them back up, blushing furiously,

"You know we're together now, Kurt," said Blaine, smiling as he helped Kurt gather the spilt contents of his shopping bags. "You don't have to blush every time you're around me anymore."

"You noticed?" said Kurt, sounding mortified.

"Well, no," admitted Blaine. "But everybody else did."

"I was just—you surprised me," muttered Kurt lamely. "Now I must look like an absolute idiot."

"You look adorable," said Blaine, kissing him on the cheek and making him go even redder. "You always look adorable."

Finn cleared his throat.

"Dude, I thought you were just going to get butter shay and exfo-whatever." He eyed the bulging shopping bags dubiously.

"_Shea butter_ and _apricot exfoliant_, Finn," said Kurt. "And I just got a few other things that I absolutely needed."

Blaine and Finn rolled their eyes at each other, both well accustomed to the ways of Kurt Hummel.

"I saw that," Kurt accused, setting the bags by the staircase. "What are you doing here anyway, Blaine?"

Blaine put on a look of exaggerated injury.

"I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by. But I can tell when I'm not wanted—"

"Of course you're wanted!" said Kurt, grabbing Blaine by the arm and dragging him back to the couch. "Sorry I wasn't home when you got here. I hope Finn hasn't been boring you to death."

"Not at all," said Blaine.

"We've been watching basketball ,"said Finn.

"Cleveland vs. LA."

"The Clippers are winning."

"But it's a close game," said Blaine

"Intense," agreed Finn.

Kurt shuddered theatrically. "No thank you!"

"Hey, basketball's awesome!" said Finn and Blaine at the same time.

"Whatever," said Kurt. He tried to stand up but Blaine pulled him back down so that he was practically in the other boy's lap.

"Blaine!" he protested, struggling.

"You need to relax, Kurt," said Blaine, holding him in place with his hands on his shoulders. "Stop taking life so seriously." He began moving his hands in a gentle massage across Kurt's shoulders and back. Kurt gave a little moan of pleasure. "You're going to give yourself a heart attack."

Kurt stiffened and Finn winced, giving Blaine a minute shake of his head.

Blaine looked confused.

"What? Did I say something wrong? Kurt? Finn?"

"No," said Kurt. "No, it's just—my dad had a heart attack earlier this year. It's kind of a sore topic."

"I'm sorry," said Blaine, his fingers resuming their glide over Kurt's tense shoulders. "I didn't know."

"It's okay," said Kurt, leaning back into the older boy. "How could you have? I didn't tell you."

Blaine just kept up his steady rhythm of massaging; smiling as Kurt relaxed in spite of himself and let his head fall back against Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine pressed a gentle kiss to the brunette's temple. He still couldn't believe that the beautiful boy was his; his friend, his boyfriend, it seemed simply too good to be true, as though surely he must wake up any minute.

Finn cleared his throat, breaking Blaine out of his reverie.

"I'll, uh, just go now…up to my room…to do…you know…homework and…stuff…"

It wasn't that Kurt and Blaine's relationship bothered him, he was happy for them, and Kurt was just about the best brother a dude could ask for, regardless of whether he liked boys or girls. But he wasn't _quite_ comfortable sitting next to such guy on guy PDA on his living room couch. It was a little weird.

"Bye, Finn," said Kurt.

"See you later," said Blaine, just the hint of a question in his voice.

"Totally, dude," Finn agreed.

After Finn left Kurt tilted his head back to brush his lips across Blaine's ever-so-slightly stubbly jawline.

"Now, where were we?"

**AN: I know **_**nothing**_** about basketball, like absolutely nothing. I did look stuff up though, so these teams actually did play each other on the afternoon Saturday March somethingth (19****th**** I think) & the Clippers won. So obviously this is supposed to take place starting that weekend, which is soon after Regionals.**

**I realize that Glee's plot progresses more quickly than I can write this fic. Consider this fic taking place in the break between 'Original Song' and 'Night of Neglect'. Canon is up to and through 'Original Song', anything that happens after in the actual show hasn't happened yet in this fic.**

**This is my 1****st**_**Glee**_** fanfic, though certainly not my 1****st**** fanfic in general, so reviews would be greatly appreciated :)**

**-SQ**


	2. Chapter 2: Plans

**Author's Note: Not the most exciting chapter, but at least I managed to fit basically all the important characters into it to establish them in my story. Well, okay, Burt and Carole didn't make it into this chapter, or the next chapter either actually, but they are in the fic. Because if they weren't that would be weird, considering they're the parents of 2 of the 3 main characters. Now I'll stop rambling and let you read the barely-long-enough-to-pass-muster chapter.**

**Disclaimer: This is a fan-produced story. This is not an actual episode of Glee.**

**Chapter Two: Plans**

"So Kurt and Blaine are official now?" asked Rachel.

The members of New Directions were gathered in the choir room after school, waiting for Mr. Shuester so that they could start rehearsal.

"Uh-huh," confirmed Finn. "They got together right before Regionals I think."

"Well, it's about damn time!" said Mercedes, clapping her hands together. "Those two have some mad chemistry."

"I thought I sensed something different between them at the competition," said Rachel. "I am _very_ perceptive."

"Oh, please," said Quinn. "You'd have to be a complete moron _not_ to sense something between them."

"I didn't sense anything between them," said Brittany.

"If that Warbler kid does anything to hurt my boy Kurt though he is going _down_," said Puck, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"I told him that," said Finn. "He's actually pretty cool though."

"Hell yeah, he is!" said Mercedes.

"And a good kisser too," added Rachel.

"Do I even know this guy?" asked Lauren Zizes.

"No," said Quinn. "He's a member of the Dalton Warblers."

"That team we beat at Regionals?"

"Yep," said Santana. "Their lead singer."

"Oh, he is _fine_," said Lauren. "Rawr."

"Watch it," growled Puck.

Lauren just sent him an insolent smirk.

"Too bad he plays for the other team," said Santana.

"Wait, I'm confused," said Brittany.

"Big surprise there," Mercedes whispered to Rachel.

"When did we start talking about sports?"

The rest of the glee club just rolled their eyes.

"I think Blaine and Kurt are cute together," said Tina. "And Kurt deserves this."

The rest of New Directions nodded their agreement.

"How is Kurt?" asked Rachel.

"He's good," said Finn.

"Who's good?" asked Mr. Shuester, coming into the choir room and setting his stack of papers down on the piano.

"Kurt," said Tina.

"He's dating that Warbler kid now," Sam added.

"Blaine," supplied Quinn.

"Really?" said Mr. Shuester. "Good for him."

"Finn was just giving us an update on how he's doing," said Artie.

"Since it's been kind of a while since we saw him," said Mike.

"We saw him at Regionals," said Santana.

"_Barely,"_ said Rachel.

"Yeah," agreed Mercedes. "That hardly counted!"

"There's a big difference between 'seeing' and _seeing_," said Sam.

"I don't get it," Brittany whispered loudly.

"How is he doing?" asked Mr. Shuester. "Is he happy?"

"I think so," said Finn. "He misses us though."

"And we miss him," said Mr. Shuester.

"Definitely," said Artie.

"Word," agreed Puck, while the others nodded.

"Well, I never really knew him…" said Lauren. The others glared at her.

"Alright," said Mr. Shuester. "As much as I know we all care about Kurt, it's time for us to get this rehearsal started. I know we're all stoked about our win at Regionals—" this was greeted by an enthusiastic cheer. "But Nationals are up next, and we're really going to have to bring it to the next level."

*****BB*****

Kurt and Blaine were walking together to Warbler practice after school.

"We're early," observed Kurt, poking his head into the empty choir room.

"That we are," agreed Blaine. "Looks like we have some time to kill," he added, a smile creeping onto his face. He held out his hand to Kurt.

Kurt blushed becomingly, but took Blaine's hand and allowed the other boy to pull him into an alcove off the side of the choir room.

Blaine had just reached up to captured Kurt's lips with his own, hands well on their way to cupping Kurt's ass, when his breast pocket buzzed.

Blaine pulled back, grimacing.

"Oh man, sorry," he said, reaching into the pocket to pull out his phone. "What a time for a text message, huh?"

"Who's it from?" asked Kurt.

"Finn."

"_Finn?"_ said Kurt incredulously. "Why is _Finn_ texting you? How does he even have your number?"

"I gave it to him," said Blaine. "When I was at your house last weekend."

"_Why?"_

Blaine shrugged. "He's cool. We're planning on hanging out sometime."

He opened the text message and tapped out a response.

"Well?" demanded Kurt.

"We're getting together at my house to watch basketball on Saturday. I have a 72 inch plasma TV."

"Oh…"

"Blaine, Kurt, come on you two lovebirds, time for practice," said Wes.

He and David grabbed the two unceremoniously by the arms and propelled them back into the choir room main.

"Now that we have _all_ of our members present," said Wes, shooting a pointed look at Kurt and Blaine, who had the grace to look chagrinned, "it is time for us to discuss possible upcoming performances."

*****BB*****

Mercedes's phone jangled in her pocket.

"Oh, hold up," she said to Tina and Rachel. She stopped and pulled the phone out, then glanced at the screen. "It's Kurt!"

"Ooh! Put him on speaker!" said Tina, both she and Rachel leaning eagerly towards the phone.

"Shhh!" hissed Mercedes, pressing the button. "Hey, Kurt! How's it going?"

"Hey, Mercedes," said Kurt's voice through the phone.

"Hi, Kurt!" said Tina and Rachel.

"Hey girls," said Kurt.

"You're on speaker-phone," said Mercedes unnecessarily.

Kurt laughed. "So I hear."

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" asked Mercedes.

"I'm missing my daily dose of chocolate!" said Kurt. "Actually, I was wondering if you were free this Saturday. We are _long_ overdue for a shopping trip."

"Oh, I am always up for shopping!" said Mercedes.

"Me too!" said Tina.

"You can definitely count me in," added Rachel.

"We'll make a party of it," said Kurt. "It'll be just like old times!"

"With the addition of Blaine," said Mercedes.

"Actually, Blaine's not coming."

"What?"

"Why not?"

"Don't tell me you two had a fight. Am I going to have to whoop some Warbler ass?"

"No, we didn't have a fight," said Kurt. "He already has plans for this Saturday. Watching basketball. With Finn."

"Say _what_?"

"I know, I couldn't believe it either, but apparently Blaine is a big basketball fan."

Mercedes, Rachel, and Tina could practically hear Kurt's accompanying elaborate arm gestured through the pone.

"So, I'll see you guys on Saturday at the mall? Say around one?"

"Better make that noon," said Tina. "Mike and I have a date at Breadstix at six and I don't want to cut it too close."

"Then noon it is," said Kurt.

"Great," said Mercedes. "We are going to have so much fun!"

"Don't I know it!" Kurt agreed.

**AN: Okay, it was kind of hard to keep track of all the ND members in that first scene, not gonna lie. Mercedes & Rachel kept wanting to take all the lines, silly divas ;)**

**As always, I'd love, love, LOVE, to have your reviews :D**

**-SQ**


	3. Chapter 3: Day Out

**Disclaimer: Nope. Glee's still not mine.**

**Chapter Three: Day Out**

Blaine answered the door when Finn rang the doorbell.

"Dude, your house is enormous!"

Blaine shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"I guess so. I don't really think about it."

"Dude, it's like a mansion or something."

Blaine shook his head.

"You should see Wes's house. Now that's a mansion. All the Warblers after parties are held there.

"Man, what do your parents do for a living?" said Finn, ogling the polished banisters, crystal chandelier, and a bunch of other things he couldn't possibly name. Had Kurt _seen_ this? The boy would have a field day.

"They're both lawyers," said Blaine as he rounded up a bowl, some popcorn, and a couple cans of soda. "Dad's criminal, Mom's business enterprise."

"Business what?" asked Finn, giving Blaine a blank look.

"Really boring," said Blaine with a roll of his eyes.

Finn eyed the 42 inch plasma TV mounted on the wall of a room that appeared to be a whole in-home theatre.

"Looks like it pays well."

Blaine just shrugged again, looking embarrassed.

"Blaine," said Finn as the two boys settled themselves side-by-side on the leather couch, "I know it's kind of rude and all to ask this, but do _all_ of the guys at Dalton have this kind of money?"

"Yeah, more or less," said Blaine. "I mean, it is a private school."

"Well, I mean, doesn't Kurt feel kind of...?"

Blaine ran a hand through his curly hair.

"We try not to make an issue of it." He looked at the tall boy sitting next to him. "Has he…said anything to you? Is he happy at Dalton?"

Finn smiled and clapped Blaine on the shoulder.

"I think he is. He's definitely happy with you."

Blaine's cheeks darkened slightly.

"Really? I-I'd like to think so. I'm certainly happy with him. I know he misses you guys a lot though."

"And we miss him. Well, they do. I mean, I live with him. Not that I don't miss him in New Directions. But we want him to be safe, and he wasn't safe at McKinley."

Blaine nodded.

"Not with that Karoffsky kid there."

They both scowled at the name.

"I know it's silly," said Blaine ruefully, "but I can't help feeling kind of responsible for him."

"That makes two of us, dude," said Finn. "Come on, let's watch some basketball."

*****BB*****

"_Kurt!"_

As soon as he walked through the doors of the Lima Mall Kurt was descended upon by the female half of the McKinley High glee club.

"Oooooh my God!"

Mercedes laughed and squeezed Kurt so tightly he thought his ribs might crack.

"Careful, this jacket is a Marc Jacobs limited edition!"

"I _missed_ you, white boy!" said Mercedes.

"I missed you too, Mercedes!" laughed Kurt, hugging her back fiercely.

"Let him breathe, Mercedes," said Rachel. She was grinning from ear to ear as she patted him on the back. "How _are_ you?"

"Really good, actually," said Kurt, grinning back at her. "Despite our loss at sectionals."

"You guys really rocked though," said Tina.

"Yeah, even I was nervous for a minute there," said Rachel.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. From Rachel this was high praise indeed.

"But you guys killed those original songs," said Kurt. "You totally deserved that win."

"Oh, come here," said Rachel. She pulled him into a hug and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Kurt hugged her back, blushing.

"Oh, you. You know," he said. "As much as I hate to admit it, I almost miss all of your diva drama."

Rachel shoved him gently in the shoulder.

"I knew you couldn't live without my talent."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Sure…"

"Alright, alright, stop hogging him," said Santana, pushing her way past Rachel and Mercedes. "I wants to get my Kurt on."

Once the rest of the girls had gotten a chance to say hello to Kurt, he linked arms with Mercedes on one side and Rachel on the other, with Quinn, Brittany, and Santana behind and Tina and Lauren in front, and the eight of them headed off into the mall proper.

*****BB*****

"Oh my God, you _have _to buy that," Kurt said to Tina. "It looks _amazing_ on you."

"You think so?" said Tina, holding up the top.

"Completely," confirmed Kurt. "Trust me."

"What about this one?" asked Mercedes, holding up a knit top for Kurt's inspection.

"Nice…" said Kurt. "But I think _this_ one would be even better." He handed her another top off the rack. "Plus it's on sale."

"Well that makes the deal for me!" said Mercedes. "Oh, Mr. Shop Clerk!"

As Tina and Mercedes went to pay for their purchases, Quinn turned to Kurt.

"So, what's it like at Dalton?"

"The guys have gots to be absolutely wanky," said Santana.

"Santana," said Quinn, "he has a boyfriend."

"So?"

Kurt blushed and rolled his eyes.

"Dalton's great," said Kurt. "The classes are harder and there's a _lot_ of homework. But the kids are kinder. And I feel safe."

"And that's what's important," said Tina, returning with her shopping bag over her arm.

The other girls nodded, patting Kurt on the arms and shoulders.

"What about the New Directions? How are things going at McKinley?"

The girls exchanged glances.

"Drama," said Quinn wryly. "Always with the drama."

Kurt sighed.

"What else is new?"

"You having a boyfriend is new," said Brittany.

"Yeah," said Mercedes. "Last thing I heard you two were 'just good friends'. Come on Kurt, dish!"

"We want all the nitty gritty details," said Rachel.

Kurt blushed.

"There's really not much to say…"

"Oh, please," said Santana.

"Tell us how it happened!" said Tina.

"He—well—he kissed me," said Kurt.

"Just like that?" said Lauren.

"Pretty much," said Kurt, grinning. "He told me I moved him and then he kissed me." Kurt hugged himself, a warm fuzzy feeling rising within him at the memory. "We've been together since."

Santana pretended to gag. Lauren wolf whistled.

"We are _so_ happy for you, Kurt," said Tina.

"Totally," said Brittany. "Because kissing can totally cure cancer."

The rest of the glee club raised their eyebrows and said nothing.

"So why isn't he here again?" asked Santana.

A dark look passed briefly over Kurt's face.

"He's watching basketball with Finn."

Rachel bit her lip at the mention of her ex-boyfriend, while Quinn wore a look Kurt couldn't quite name, somewhere in between smug and nervous.

Kurt looked between them, sensing the tension there, but wisely decided not to say anything, though he did cast a questioning look at the other girls in the group.

"Well, his loss," said Mercedes, cutting in and stepping between Quinn and Rachel to take Kurt's arm again. "Now let's get going, we've still got _hella_ shops to hit up today!"

**AN: Remember, this fic pretty much ignores anything after Original Song. Think of it as happening in a semi-AU time between OS & NoN.**

**What was originally supposed to be a kind of prelude to the main event of the story is now becoming a whole main piece in of itself. Which isn't a bad thing, just makes the fic longer, lol. In fact, the first idea for the 'main event' has changed a lot as I write this story.**

**Reviews are **_**always**_** appreciated. And always replied to, providing that you have an account & sign in to it, & haven't disabled the PM feature.**

**-SQ**


	4. Chapter 4: Jilted

**Author's Note: The whole middle chunk of this chapter is texting & notes passing during class (I know, tsk tsk boys). It's not, like, a bunch of epic stuff happening, but it's furthering the plot &relationships & situation, yadda, yadda, yadda.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Shockingly, I wasn't magically transformed into Ryan Murphy since the last time I posted. O.o I know.**

**Chapter Four: Jilted**

"What a game, huh?" said Blaine as he and Finn gathered up the plates and cups and brought them into the kitchen.

"I know, right?" said Finn. "Where should I put these dishes?"

"Oh, just leave them in the sink, I'll get them later."

"Nah, dude, I'll help you," said Finn.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, dude, it's cool."

"Well thank you." Blaine opened the dishwasher and began to load it.

"So what got you into basketball?" asked Finn curiously, fitting some cups onto the rack.

"My dad," said Blaine. "He's really into sports and he used to sit me down every evening to watch the games with him. I'm even on Dalton's soccer and fencing teams. It's really the only thing he and I have to talk about. Most of the 'quality time' I sped with my dad is usually some form of him trying to turn me straight. But listen to me, bitching about my problems with my father. I'm sorry. You don't even have a father."

"I do now," said Finn, thinking of Burt. "I'm sorry you don't get along well with yours."

Blaine shrugged. "It's not so much that we don't get along as that we just don't talk to each other. We kind of function in completely different spheres of existence. Kurt is really lucky to have his dad there for him."

Finn nodded. "Burt's a cool dude," he agreed.

"Well, that's the last of them," said Blaine, clicking the dishwasher shut. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem," said Finn. He checked his watch. "I'd better get going. That was a lot of fun though. We'll have to do it again some time." He clapped Blaine on the back.

"Definitely," said Blaine.

The two clasped hands and bumped shoulders.

"See you later, dude."

"Likewise."

*****BB*****

Finn came into the house whistling.

"You sound happy," said Carole. "Did you have a good day?"

"Uh-huh," said Finn. "Watching the games on Blaine's 42 inch was wicked."

Finn crossed through the kitchen, grabbed a few croutons off the top of the salad bowl his mom had just set out, and then took the stairs up to his bedroom.

As he passed the open door of Kurt's room he saw the other boy lying on his stomach on his bed, shuffling through music on his ipod.

"Oh, hey Kurt, I didn't know you were home."

Kurt didn't look up at his step-brother in the doorway as he said monotonously, "Hi, Finn."

"How did your shopping trip go?"

"Fine."

"Um, Kurt? Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Why would you think that?" said Kurt, still not looking up.

"Well, you've kind of not been speaking to me for the last couple days. Is everything okay?"

"Of course, Finn. Why shouldn't it be?"

"Is this one of those times when you say everything's okay when it's really not? 'Cause I'm not good at those. They kind of confuse my head."

"Everything is _fine_, Finn," snapped Kurt. "Now can you please go away?"

Kurt watched his step-brother shrug and walk away. Stupid Finn! He had everything so easy; star quarterback, male lead, most popular guy in school…

_Goddamn Saint Finn_, though Kurt in disgust. _Everyone likes him, hurrah hooray. I honestly don't know what I ever saw in that guy._

****BB****

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_Hey, dude, I had a really great time on Saturday. I put in a good word for you with the rest of the McKinley club too so maybe now they won't threaten to murder you for looking sideways at Kurt._

_To: Finn Hudson_

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_Ha, ha, thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Watching sports with you is a lot more fun than watching them with my dad. And it's not something I can really do with Kurt, you know? And it's nice to have a friend outside of Dalton. We're a pretty isolated community here._

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_I know what you mean. Are we on again for this Saturday?_

_To: Finn Hudson_

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_Definitely! Maybe we can order a pizza this time._

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_Yum! I am so down for that. Hey, what are you doing after school today?_

_To: Finn Hudson_

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_Nothing special. Why?_

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_Doesn't look like I'm gonna have too much homework tonight. Wanna come chill at my place? It doesn't have a 24 in plasma TV, but I do have that new Zombie Raiders game._

_To: Finn Hudson_

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_Wicked! If I catch a ride there with Kurt do you think you could bring me home?_

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_Totally. Not a problem dude. See you around 4 then?_

_To: Finn Hudson_

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_Yeah. Don't kill too many zombies without me._

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_No guarantee there, dude. I'm a mean, lean, zombie killing machine._

"Mr. Anderson, would you kindly refrain from texting during class?"

Blaine looked up innocently and slid the phone under his desk.

"_All_ the way away, please, Mr. Anderson."

Blaine reluctantly put the phone back into his bag, pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil as he did so.

_Is this the most boring assignment ever or what? –B_

He folded the paper into a football and flicked it across to Kurt's desk. Thirty seconds later it landed back beside his hand.

_Don't bother me, please. I'm trying to work._

Blaine rolled his eyes and wrote back.

_Come on, you could do this work in your sleep._

The paper football landed back in front of Blaine a minute later.

_Do you want to get in trouble for passing notes as well?_

Blaine unfolded the note, read it, scribbled his answer, and tossed it back.

_What is with you today? Are you mad at me? :'(_

_No, I'm just trying to concentrate._

_Then is something else bothering you? Do you want to talk about it?_

At the next desk the brunette deliberately unfolded the note, read it, crumpled it up, and then deposited it in the garbage can.

*****BB*****

It didn't take Blaine very long to get back into Kurt's good graces; it rarely did. After class he sidled up to the volatile countertenor and put his hands over his eyes.

"Guess who."

"_Blaine."_

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" said Blaine.

"Stop fooling around," said Kurt.

"Oh, I'd hardly call _that_ fooling around," said Blaine, sliding his hands down Kurt's chest.

"_Blaine!"_

Blaine turned the other boy around so that they were facing each other, bodies pressed close by Blaine's locked arms.

"I'm sorry for distracting you during class. Kiss and make up?"

He gave Kurt his best puppy-dog face.

"Damnit Blaine, that is so unfair," said Kurt, his heart in serious danger of melting right out of his chest.

Blaine grinned and stole a quick kiss from his boyfriend.

Grudgingly, Kurt smiled and pecked him back.

"You're beautiful," said Blaine seriously, arms still wrapped around the other boy.

"Blaine, stop it."

"You are." He linked his arm with Kurt's. "Walk you to your next class?"

"Oh alright," said Kurt.

Blaine walked with Kurt to Chemistry, gave him a quick parting peck on the lips, and turned to go. The last thing Kurt saw before he entered the classroom was his boyfriend pulling out his cell phone and sending a text message to someone who appeared to be on speed dial.

*****BB*****

"Hey, are we going to the Lima Bean today?" asked Kurt as he and Blaine left school. It was Tuesday, the one day a week they didn't have Warbler rehearsal after school, which meant that they generally all headed over to the Lima Bean for coffee.

"Don't have time," said Blaine. "I told Finn I'd be over at your place around four. I was actually hoping you could give me a ride. Finn said he'd bring me back here for my car later and it seems pretty silly for us to drive two separate cars when we're going to the same place.

"Oh…" said Kurt. "Okay…"

"You didn't have plans or anything, did you?" said Blaine. "Because I can totally take myself if you've got other things to do."

"Nope," said Kurt in a voice too hearty to be his own. "No plans. No plans at all." _Except for going to the Lima Bean with you like we've done every Tuesday since I started at Dalton._

"Great," said Blaine, grinning. "What do you say to some good old _Wicked_ for the drive over? I know how much you love that show."

Kurt forced a smile.

"Sounds wonderful."

**AN: Some more wonderful Finn & Blaine bonding. Or not so wonderful…**

**Review? *Blaine puppy-dog eyes* (You know they're adorable)**

**-SQ**


	5. Chapter 5: Killing Zombies

**Author's Note: Fluff, angst, more of Blaine acting like a normal teenage boy, a flashback, and the girls! (Well, Kurt's most important girls). Enjoy!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I have no **_**claim**_** to Kurt and Blaine, except claiming to love them very, very much :)**

**Also, the scene in italics is taken directly from the show.**

**Chapter Five: Killing Zombies**

They were finished with _Wicked_ and on to _Rent_—the OBC recording—when Kurt pulled the car up in front of his house.

"Here we are," he said, killing the engine.

He moved to open his door, but Blaine, who had leapt out of the car the minute they had come to a stop, got there before him.

"Monsieur," he said, bowing as Kurt slid from the driver's seat.

The brunette giggled.

"Oh, Blaine."

"Blaine!"

The two boys in the driveway looked up; Finn's head was sticking out of his bedroom window.

"I'll be right up!" Blaine shouted back. He gave Kurt's hand a quick squeeze and pecked him on the cheek. "Gotta go. Zombies to kill."

Kurt watched him run up the front steps and into the house, letting the door slam behind the other boy before following with dragging feet.

Kurt made himself an omelet, ate it, and washed it down with a glass of skim milk before heading up to his room. Before he was even halfway up the stairs he could hear the blasting of the video game and the laughing shouts of his boyfriend and step-brother coming from Finn's room.

As Kurt passed by the open door Finn looked up from the TV screen.

"Oh, hey Kurt."

"Having fun?" Kurt asked, the bitter edge to his tone completely lost on the two video game absorbed teens.

"Yeah, this game is awesome!" said Blaine. "We'd invite you to play, but Finn only has two controllers and I know it's not your thing anyway."

"Thanks for the offer," said Kurt sarcastically. "Now if you don't mind keeping it down, I am going to work on a little thing called _homework_."

"Have fun," chorused Blaine and Finn together.

*****BB*****

Kurt didn't come out of his room until Carole called him down for dinner.

Looking around the kitchen, he spotted Finn already sitting at the table.

"Where's Blaine?"

"I just got back from taking him home," said Finn.

Kurt felt as though his brother had just punched him in the stomach.

"What?"

"Yeah," said Finn, completely oblivious. "He had to be back home in time for dinner."

"Oh," was all Kurt could think to say. His boyfriend had gone home without even saying goodbye to him. He turned to Carole. "I'm not actually feeling very hungry right now. I think I'll just go back up to my room. Keep working on my homework."

He turned on his heel and fled, knowing that if he was in that room for a second longer he would either burst into tears or start screaming and throwing things at his step-brother.

*****BB*****

A while later, when Kurt had cried himself out and screamed himself hoarse and was simply lying on his bed with his face buried in his feather pillow, there was a knock on his door.

"Go 'way," he mumbled. "I'm busy."

"Kurt? It's Carole. Can I come in?"

Kurt heard the door open and felt another person lower themselves onto the bed next to him. A hand came to rest between his shoulder blades.

"You're upset that Blaine left without saying goodbye to you."

Kurt nodded, sniffling.

"Is that the only thing that's bothering you?"

Kurt shook his head, still not lifting his face from the downy sanctuary of the pillow.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" When Kurt made no answer Carole continued. "It's about Finn and Blaine, isn't it?"

Kurt nodded into his pillow again.

"Are you jealous of the time they've been spending together?"

Another nod.

"Oh, sweetie." Carole rubbed his back.

"It's not fair," said Kurt, lifting his face from the pillow slightly. "I _just_ got together with Blaine, and now he's spending all his time with Finn, or texting Finn, or talking about _Finn_. Am I not good enough for him? Finn's not even gay! I know from personal experience."

Carole was glad that her step-son couldn't see her smile.

"Of course you're good enough for him, honey. Anyone with eyes can see how much he cares about you," she said, still rubbing his back. "Is it only Blaine that you're missing?"

Kurt shook his head again.

"Finn hardly talks to me any more either."

"It's just the novelty of a new relationship," said Carole, continuing to rub Kurt's back soothingly. "Trust me, they'll get tired of each other eventually."

"Like they got tired of me?"

"Kurt," said Carole, "look at me."

Kurt turned his face reluctantly away from the pillows.

"They are not tired of you. They could never be tired of you. They love you."

"They sure have a funny way of showing it."

"Give it some time. Blaine's a smart boy. And Finn, well, he may not exactly be the sharpest tool in the shed, but his heart's in the right place. Come on," she added, tapping his shoulder. "Let's get you some dinner. And maybe a glass of warm milk to go with it."

*****BB*****

For the rest of the week Kurt really tried to follow Carole's advice and wait it out, he did, but it was so difficult! Blaine and Finn kept texting back and forth, finalizing their plans for the weekend, without so much as a thought for including Kurt. The fact that he had absolutely zero interest in basketball was beside the point.

"Can you _stop_ talking about stupid basketball and video games for one minute, Blaine! ?" Kurt finally burst out one morning during break. "It's driving me crazy!"

"Whoa, what's your problem, dude?" said Blaine, looking askance at his boyfriend.

"Dude?" said Kurt incredulously. "_Dude?_ God! You're even starting to sound like him!"

"Like whom?" said Blaine, confused.

"Oh forget it," snapped Kurt. "It's time for class."

*****BB*****

"Just say something to them," said Rachel.

Kurt was hanging upside down off his bed, talking four-way with Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina.

"Oh, yeah, and sound like a totally pathetic loser," said Kurt.

"Kurt Hummel, you are _not_ in any way shape or form pathetic or a loser," said Mercedes's voice firmly. "Do I have to come over there and bitch slap some sense into your little fashionista head?"

"I never said I _was_ a loser, Mercedes," said Kurt. "I only said I'd _look_ like one if I went whining to my brother and my boyfriend about spending too much time together."

"But if it's bothering you so much—"

"Of course it's bothering me, Tina! They don't even notice I exist anymore! It's like they're in love with each other! It's sickening."

"If you'd like me to talk to Finn, I'm sure my influence as fellow Team Captain—"

"No, Rachel, I appreciate the offer, but I think you'd better not."

"Have you even tried talking with them about it?" asked Mercedes.

"Of course I have," sighed Kurt. "Well, kind of…"

"Talk to them!" came all three voices at once.

"Okay, okay," said Kurt. "I will, I promise. I've got to go now though or I'll never finish my homework. You have no idea how much work they give us at Dalton."

"Okay, bye Kurt!"

"We love you!"

"Don't be a stranger!"

Kurt smiled. What would he do without his girlfriends?

"Bye girls. I love you too. See you soon."

Kurt hung up the phone and regretfully turned to the discarded history textbook next to him. A memory flashed through his head.

_Kurt, bent over his history text, jumped when something slammed down onto the table nearby._

"_Hey."_

_Blaine was standing there with a boom box, smiling that smile that always made Kurt's heart melt just a little bit._

"_You scared me," said Kurt._

"_Well, good," said Blaine, coming toward him, "because I'm actually Marley's ghost and I'm here to tell you to stop studying so hard."_

"_What's with the boom box?" asked Kurt is what he hoped was an offhand voice as Blaine sat down in the chair across from him._

"_I need you to sing with me, well, rehearse with me," said the older boy. "I got a gig singing 'Baby It's Cold Outside' in the King's Island Christmas Spectacular."_

"_Ah," said Kurt, "a personal favorite. Too bad they'd never let us sing it together. I mean as two...artists," he added, glance flicking away from Blaine's._

"_Mmm," said Blaine, nodding slowly. Then, "So, you gonna help me out here?"_

"_Anything to get me to stop reading about Charlemagne," said Kurt fervently._

"_Very good then," said Blaine in an affected voice, shutting Kurt's textbook with a snap. He rose from his chair and pressed 'play' on the boom box…_

A tear leaked from Kurt's eye onto the pages in front of him.

*****BB*****

"Finn, I need to talk with you."

"Can this wait, dude? I'm already running late."

"To where?"

"Blaine's. We're gonna watch the game again."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," said Kurt. "All you guys ever talk about now is—"

"Don't you think this would be a better conversation to have with Rachel or Mercedes?" said Finn.

"No, I need to talk to _you_—"

"Look Kurt, I really don't have time for this right now. I promise I'll talk to you when I get back. See you later dude."

The front door shut behind him.

Kurt kicked the umbrella stand.

"Aaargh!"

**AN: Poor Kurt :( Why does he have such oblivious boys in his life? And no, for once it's not just 'cause I chose to make it that way, they really are that oblivious in the show. So blame Ryan Murphy, lol.**

**And I usually don't reuse types of review requests, but this one worked so WELL last time so… *Blaine puppy dog eyes* He'd lo-o-ove it if you'd review ;)**

**-SQ**


	6. Chapter 6: A Minute to Talk

**Author's Note: Blaine POV! :) Not the whole chapter, but some of it. Other than that, just read the chapter, then you'll know what happens, lol.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Really, no one actually thinks I own Glee**

**Chapter Six: A Minute to Talk**

Blaine was confused. Something was obviously going on with his boyfriend, and he couldn't figure out what it was. But the thing that really bothered him was that he felt like he should know.

He'd tried asking Finn, but the boy was even more clueless than himself, and he hadn't even known that was possible.

And talking to Kurt got him nowhere either. The stubborn fashionista insisted that nothing was wrong. And often it did seem like nothing was wrong. They would be talking and teasing each other and laughing and flirting like normal, and then all of a sudden Kurt would lash out or clam up. It was completely baffling.

_I thought this was the reason I didn't date girls_, thought Blaine, grimacing.

*****BB*****

"Blaine?"

The shorter boy jumped, almost tripping over his own feet.

"Whoa there, oh-dapper-one," said Kurt, laughing. "I know I'm exciting, but really."

Blaine chuckled in slight embarrassment.

"Good morning, Beautiful."

Kurt blushed and Blaine's arms came around him, warm lips ghosting over his. Ooh but it felt good. Maybe he could just forget about talking to Blaine…

_Say what?_ said Mercedes's voice in his head. _Oh no you didn't, boy._

Kurt winced and drew himself away from Blaine's comforting arms. The girls were right; he couldn't chicken out of this one.

"Um, Blaine, I actually need to talk to you about something."

Blaine noticed the smile fade away from his boyfriend's face and be replaced with a serious expression.

"What is it, Kurt?" he asked, keeping hold of the younger boy's hand.

Kurt addressed the air above Blaine's shoulder as he delivered the speech he had rehearsed in front of his bathroom mirror.

"You've been spending a whole lot of time with Finn lately. You're always hanging out with him and texting him and talking about him; I get tired of hearing about my own brother from my boyfriend, and of hearing things about my boyfriend from my brother."

Blaine looked at him in confusion.

"I thought you'd be glad that he and I are getting along."

"I am," said Kurt. "But this is more than just 'getting along'. I mean, you do know that he's straight, don't you? He has a girlfriend." _And you have a boyfriend, remember? __**Me**__._

"What, so now I'm not allowed to have straight friends?"

"What? No! I mean yes! I mean, of course you are! Wes and David are straight. And you haven't been spending as much time with them lately either."

"I see them at school and at Warblers' rehearsal. And I never knew you were so hung up about people's sexuality."

"I'm not!" said Kurt. "That's not what this is about!"

"Kurt, you're shouting."

"And you're not listening!"

"I'm not sure what it is I'm supposed to be listening to!"

"Ugh!" said Kurt in frustration. This conversation was _not_ going at all how he had planned it.

"Kurt, calm down—"

"No!" said Kurt, shrugging Blaine's hands off his shoulders angrily. "You know what, forget it, I'm going to class. Have fun with Finn tonight!" And he stormed off.

Blaine stared after him in frustrated bewilderment.

"But I'm not even seeing Finn tonight!"

*****BB*****

Kurt hadn't spoken to Blaine all day and Blaine had gone from exceedingly annoyed to downright pissed. What was _with_ that boy? Why did he have to be so damn confusing and emotional?

Blaine liked—no, _needed_—to be in control. To know what was going on and to have a handle on the situation. When he didn't he started to panic, and when he started to panic he started to lose his temper.

And that was why Blaine was sitting in his car after Warblers' rehearsal trying to get a grip on himself after having just yelled at his boyfriend in the middle of the choir room.

He hadn't meant to yell at Kurt. What he had meant to do was to cajole the boy into talking to him again. Unfortunately he hadn't been in a very cajoling mood by that point, and when Kurt had given him the _'oh-no-you-didn't' _hand when all Blaine had done was say his name, he had kind of, well, snapped.

"What is _with_ you today? ! You are absolutely impossible, you know that? I don't know what you think you're accomplishing by acting like this but you need to _cut it the hell out_! I am getting really sick and tired of your bitchy diva attitude!"

The entire Warbler hall had stared at him in shock. Blaine hardly ever swore and he hardly ever lost his temper. Not in public.

Kurt had blinked, and then this twisted look had come over his face.

"Oh, so that's it then? Thank you for clearing that up for me." And with that he had stormed out of the hall in an exit worthy, if Kurt's stories were anything to go by, of Rachel Berry.

Blaine massaged his forehead and groaned. Who knew being in a relationship was so complicated? Well, there was no use sitting here in this parking lot. Maybe by the time he got home both he and Kurt would have cooled down enough that they could talk about this—whatever the hell this was—reasonably.

When he got home, though, and went up to his room, threw himself down across his bed, and selected Kurt's named from his phone book, the call went through to voicemail.

Either Kurt wasn't available or he was choosing not to answer his phone, or at least choosing not to answer his phone when it was Blaine calling.

Well, if he couldn't talk to Kurt then he might as well take his mind off the whole issue. He backed up the screen and scrolled down through the phonebook, jabbing his thumb at a name about a quarter of the way down.

*****BB*****

*Ring Ring Ring*

Carole looked over at the countertop. Typical of her son, leaving his phone downstairs in the kitchen. The name on the screen caught her eye: Blaine Anderson

She hesitated. Meddling in her sons' lives was decidedly uncool.

*Ring Ring Ring*

They would sort it out for themselves eventually.

*Ring Ring Ring*

They wouldn't thank her for getting involved.

*Ring Ring Ring*

Oh to hell with it.

"Hello Blaine, this is Carole Hudson-Hummel, Finn and Kurt's mother. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

*****BB*****

Kurt was almost inside the building when a familiar voice called his name from behind.

"Kurt."

Kurt stopped and, almost involuntarily, looked over his shoulder. Blaine was leaning against the side of the brick school building, hands in his pockets.

"Can we talk?"

"What about?" said Kurt spitefully. "Finn? Basketball? Videogames? I don't want to _tire_ you."

Blaine sighed and scuffed his loafered toe against the cement.

"Oh Kurt. You don't tire me. I should never have said that. I _would_ never have said that if I had… I know you're mad at me. I know _why_ you're mad at me. I know why you've been acting like you've been acting lately. I know why you're upset. "

Kurt just glared at him.

"When you wouldn't answer your phone last night I tried calling Finn—I know, I know okay? Just hear me out. I tried calling Finn, but Carole answered. She told me how left out you've been feeling lately. God—I am so freakin' _clueless_ sometimes. I've been neglecting you—no, don't say anything, let me finish. I've acted like an idiot these past couple weeks, and I acted like an idiot again yesterday when I yelled at you after rehearsal. I didn't realize what was going on, and neither did Finn, I'm sure, but that's no excuse. I'm your boyfriend. I'm supposed to notice these things. I'm not supposed to make them happen in the first place." He swallowed thickly. "It's no wonder you're mad at me. I've been a miserable failure as a boyfriend. Feel free to walk away now." The curly-haired Warbler hung his head.

Kurt stared at Blaine. First the episode after Glee rehearsal yesterday, now this… This wasn't his confident, dapper Blaine. He didn't know what to think.

"Blaine…" He took half a step closer, torn. On the one hand he was still furious and hurting. On the other hand…

"Wait… Oh my God Blaine, are you _crying_?"

Blaine sniffled and shook his head.

"Oh _Blaine_."

Warm arms wrapped themselves around Blaine's shoulders and he buried his face in Kurt's chest.

"I'm sorry," he said thickly. "I got caught up with my new friendship with Finn and you didn't tell me outright that it was bothering you and you _know_ how dense I can be sometimes…"

Kurt was at a complete loss. He'd never seen Blaine cry before. Ever.

"Shhh," he said. "God Blaine, there's no reason to cry about it."

"When we started dating I promised myself I wouldn't hurt you," said Blaine, face still buried in the front of Kurt's blazer.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Kurt. "All couples fight. It's a natural part of relationships, if the ones at McKinley are any indication. And you're right, I do know how much of a blockhead you can be."

As Kurt had intended, Blaine lifted his head front Kurt's chest and the corners of his lips twitched upwards.

"I just feel like such a—"

"Shhh," said Kurt again, silencing Blaine's lips with his own. "Come on, you're _Blaine_, you don't cry."

Blaine chuckled wetly and kissed him back.

"If only that were true."

"You're right," said Kurt after a moment. "This would have been a lot easier if I had just come out with what was bothering me instead of acting like a spoiled toddler."

Blaine chuckled slightly at the imagery.

"But it just—it felt like you were both pulling away from me, and that hurt. A lot. And then when you said that stuff yesterday in the choir room…"

"I didn't mean it," said Blaine, cupping Kurt's cheek in his hand. "You're not a bitch, not by a longshot. You have a hell of an attitude sometimes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and you are a very sweet and caring person. I'm not saying you're perfect, but obviously neither am I. And I'm not tired of your diva. Sometimes you _are_ a little, well, high-maintenance, but it's adorable. I could never get tired of it. I could never get tired of _you_."

"Really?" said Kurt genuinely. "Because I know I have a tendency to get on people's nerves—though admittedly not quite as much as Rachel."

It was Blaine's turn to cut his boyfriend off with a kiss.

"I promise. And I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I do wish you had told me. I'm not going to say you never get on my nerves"—they both smiled—"but that doesn't change how I feel about you. You are the most adorable boy in the world and I adore you."

Kurt blushed.

"You're just saying that."

"I'm not." He hesitated. "Am I, um, forgiven?"

"Will you kiss me again?"

Blaine smiled.

"With pleasure."

"Then yes, you're forgiven."

Blaine delivered the promised kiss and then straightened up and smoothed the wrinkles from his and Kurt's blazers, noticing the wet patch on the front of Kurt's.

Kurt noticed it too.

"Oh, you so owe me."

Blaine patted his cheek.

"If you want me to I'll cancel my plans with Finn this Saturday. We can go out to lunch instead. Just you and me."

Kurt was tempted to take Blaine up on the offer, but…

"No, you can go ahead and have your basketball day. We can go out to lunch on Sunday."

Blaine pretended to consider.

"I'll pay?"

"If you insist," said Kurt smiling.

Blaine smiled back and kissed Kurt's fingertips.

"Then it's a date."

**AN: I worked this scene a lot to get it right. I didn't want it to be too dramatic 'cause it wasn't a super huge issue, but I didn't want it resolved too quickly either. And yes, that slightly confusing bit about Blaine's personality will be addressed at some point in future chapters.**

**I 3 Kurt I 3 Blaine & I admit it, I 3 reviews too.**

**-SQ**


	7. Chapter 7: Another Minute

**Author's Note: Okay, this chapter is pretty much lame and short. This scene had to happen now and I didn't want to go on to the next bit in this chapter, so this is what came about. I like the scene, I just don't like the fact that it is the entire chapter, but there you go. It is over 1000 words at least, which is my minimum per chapter.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I only **_**wish**_** I owned the brownies in this chapter, or anything else for that matter**

**Chapter Seven: Another Minute**

Kurt arrived home in a much better mood then when he had left. He and Blaine didn't fight very often, and when they did they hated it, but the making up made it almost worth it. Blaine had spent the entire day tripping over himself to carry Kurt's bag, open doors for him, and even get his lunch from the line in the cafeteria. The pair had been acting so lovey-dovey during Warbler's rehearsal that Wes had slammed his gavel down against his podium and called them out for it, much to Kurt's embarrassment (and Blaine's too, actually, he just did a lot better job of hiding it). The three stern, no-nonsense council members then proceeded to spend the rest of the rehearsal making retching faces at them when the other members of the club weren't looking. This in turn caused the dapper, gentlemanly Blaine to stick his tongue out at his friends. All in all it was not the most productive of rehearsals.

So now Kurt walked into the house, whistling to the tune of "People Will Say We're In Love", and crashed smack into Finn, who was just hanging up his coat in the foyer.

"Oof," said Finn, blinking down at the shorter boy who had just walked into him. "Oh, hey Kurt."

"Hi, Finn," said Kurt, accepting his step-brother's hand as he picked himself up of the floor. "I didn't see you there."

"Obviously not," said Finn. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," said Kurt, his carefree, lighter-than-air mood leaving him somewhat as he realized that he didn't know what to say to Finn.

He hadn't really talked to his step-brother in a week, and even though everything had been squared away with Blaine earlier today at school, Finn still had no clue as to why Kurt had been mad at him.

_He should have known,_ said a sulky voice inside Kurt's head.

He quashed it. Perhaps the larger boy should have known, but this was _Finn _they were talking about, did he really expect a boy who had told his best friend that his _mom_ had to have her prostrate out to be able to deduce, well, anything? Kurt shook his head. Sometimes he didn't know whether he found Finn's stupidity more aggravating or endearing.

"Um, Kurt, are you gonna go into the house or what?"

"Finn, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Have you even noticed that I've been mad at you?"

"Well, you have been acting kind of funny lately," Finn said slowly. "I thought it might be something like that, but I couldn't figure out what I'd done to upset you."

"God, you really are dense, aren't you?"

"Hey, wait," protested Finn. "That wasn't very nice."

Just then Carole stuck her head in from the kitchen.

"Ah, Finn, there you are. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Finn opened his mouth to reply, but Kurt looked around the larger boy and caught Carole's eyes, shaking his head.

"I've got it Carole, thanks."

Finn looked between his mother and his step-brother.

"Dude, are you psychic or something?"

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"No, Finn. I just happen to know what she was going to talk to you about because it's the same thing I want to talk to you about."

"And that is…?"

"You and Blaine," said Kurt. "I think it's great that you and he are getting along and all, but lately you guys have been leaving me out. Like, a lot. At the risk of sounding like a preschooler, it really hurt my feelings."

Finn stared down at his brother.

"Dude, I never knew you felt that way."

"Well, honestly, Finn, you _should_ have known. It's not like I was being exactly subtle about the fact that was upset. And I am your _brother_."

"Only since a few months ago," protested Finn. "And there there's no reason to insult me."

"Because you've never insulted me," said Kurt, starting to feel angry again. "But I suppose it doesn't matter, since I'm not _really _your brother."

He tried to storm past Finn.

"Now look here, Kurt," said Finn, standing in his way. "Don't act like this! I never said that! Of course you're really my brother! All I meant was that I haven't had as much time as most brothers to really get to know you. And honestly, you're kind of a hard dude to understand. You're like this weird mix of guy and girl and I never know which one you're going to act like at any given moment."

"I am a guy, Finn!" said Kurt. "I'm a guy just like you!"

"Dude, you're _not_ just like me," said Finn. "You're all fashion and diva and, well, gay. I'm not saying it's a bad thing," he said hurriedly, "'cause it's not, I'm totally cool with you being gay, but it is a little unnerving sometimes. I want to understand you though. Really. You've just got to be patient with me."

"That's not something I'm particularly good at," mumbled Kurt sullenly, glaring at the carpet.

"Hey, Kurt"—Kurt felt large hands on his shoulders and looked up reluctantly. "I'm trying to apologize here, the least you could do is listen. We never meant to make you feel bad, I swear. I guess I am kind of dense sometimes. Man, I feel like such a bum brother now. But I also feel kind of frustrated with the way you're handling this."

"I know," sighed Kurt, sniffling slightly. "I wasn't very nice to you either."

"Kurt, come on, don't cry, I don't know what to do when people cry, especially dudes. Aw man, I feel awful. Why didn't you tell me you were upset about it? I totally would have been there for you."

"But that's the thing," sniffled Kurt. "You weren't there. And I know you didn't know, and you weren't trying to be mean—you haven't got a vicious bone in your body, you even held my jacket for me when Puckerman and the guys used to throw me in the dumpster—"

"Me and Puck still feel bad about that," Finn interjected.

"I just…I missed my boyfriend and my brother," said Kurt. "I don't want you guys to forget about me. Is that pathetic?"

Finn pulled Kurt into a tight hug.

"No, it's not pathetic. And I could _never_ forget about you, Kurt, trust me, you are unforgettable." He hesitated. "So, are we cool?"

Kurt looked up at him, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks."

"Good," said Finn, giving him a last squeeze. "I really do feel bad about making you feel bad."

"I know."

"Did you talk to Blaine about this?" said Finn. "'Cause he's been kind of worried about you lately."

"Yeah," said Kurt, smiling. "We talked…among other things."

"Okay, don't want to know about it," said Finn quickly. "Come on, I can smell my mom making brownies in the kitchen."

"Carole's brownies?" said Kurt, throwing up his hands. "Great. There goes my figure."

**AN: I know maybe there's not much to comment on, other than the fact that Finn & Kurt made up like they needed to, but I'd love it if you'd comment anyway :)**

**-SQ**


	8. Chapter 8: Chocolate Chip Cookies

**Author's Note: This chapter is basically just boys messing around being boys :) there will be plenty of future drama in the story, but our poor boys need a bit of a break.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: _ Fill in the blank**

**Chapter Eight: Chocolate Chip Cookies**

_To: Finn Hudson_

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_Did Kurt talk to you?_

_._

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_Yeah. I feel really bad._

_._

_To: Finn Hudson_

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_So do I. We should do something to make it up to him._

_._

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_Yeah, but what?_

_._

_To: Finn Hudson_

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_Well, I did have an idea…_

*****BB*****

"Hey, Kurt."

Kurt stopped and backtracked to his stepbrother's bedroom.

"Hey what?"

"Do you have any plans for this afternoon?"

"No," replied Kurt. "Unless you call working on my obscene amount of homework 'plans'. Why?"

"You wanna come over to Blaine's with me?"

"What?"

"You wanna come over to Blaine's with me this afternoon?" Finn repeated.

"You're inviting me to your Basketball Saturday with Blaine?" said Kurt.

"And I thought I was supposed to be the slow one in this family." Finn chucked a pillow at him. "Yes, I'm inviting you to come with me for Basketball Saturday at Blaine's. Of course if you don't want to come…"

"Oof!" said Kurt as the pillow struck him in the stomach. Then, "Yeah I want to come! Thanks, Finn!"

"Don't thank me, it was Blaine's idea."

Kurt left the room and then turned back toward his brother.

"Finn, we won't be watching basketball the whole time, will we?"

Finn laughed.

"Basketball won't be on the whole time. There's only one game today."

"Good said Kurt in relief. "I'm going to go get a few things. Don't leave without me!"

"Don't take forever!" Finn responded. "I want to make it there before four."

"Finn, it's five past noon."

"Damn, I knew I should have told you earlier."

Kurt chucked the pillow back at Finn and left the room. Finn smiled and shook his head. He would never understand Kurt, but seeing him happy like this was totally worth it, especially since he preferred his head attached to his shoulders and his eardrums intact.

****BB*****

"Hey guys!" Blaine opened the door and let them into the grand foyer.

Finn and Kurt hung up their coats and followed Blaine into the living room.

"Come on," said Blaine, grabbing their hands and tugging them forward. "The game's about to start!"

Kurt pouted.

"What? No hello kiss?"

Blaine stopped, grabbed Kurt's other hand, spun him in a full circle, and then yanked him forward against his lips.

"Hello, Kurt," he murmured.

"Hello, Blaine," said Kurt somewhat breathlessly.

Blaine pecked him lightly on the cheek.

"Now come on before we miss the beginning of the game."

*****BB*****

The three boys settled themselves onto the plush couch, Finn on one site, Blaine on the other, Kurt half lying in the middle with his head resting in Blaine's lap. Finn and Blaine sat with their eyes glued to the screen, Blaine's left hand resting on Kurt's hair, his right alternating between his soda can and the bowl of popcorn on the table. Kurt pulled out the latest issue of Vogue, brought along specifically for the occasion, and proceeded to immerse himself in it for the remainder of the game, emerging only when the other two cheered or groaned extra loudly, and which point he asked what was going on and received an answer that only vaguely made sense, though whether that was due to ineptitude on his part or that of his brother and boyfriend he wasn't sure.

"Your brother is ridiculous," said Blaine to Finn as the game drew to a close, lacing his fingers through Kurt's hair.

"You're the one who chose to date him," said Finn.

"I'm right here you know, guys," said Kurt over the top of his magazine.

"It's kind of hard to forget when your legs are draped across my lap, bro," said Finn.

Kurt stuck his tongue out at his brother.

"How did they get there, anyway?" asked Finn. "I know you weren't lying down like that when we started watching the game."

"While _you_ were busy 'watching the game' _I_ decided to move into a more comfortable position," said Kurt. "Do you have a problem with that?" His tone was joking, but Blaine didn't miss the undercurrent of tension behind the remark, and wondered just what had gone on between these two boys before they had become step-brothers.

"No," Finn replied after a beat of silence, "but if my legs fall asleep you're cleaning up the dishes."

The tightness in Kurt's smile relaxed and he kicked at Finn, prompting the bigger boy to tickle his foot.

"Blaine! Blaine! Help me!" squealed Kurt, writhing and squirming in his boyfriend's lap.

"I don't know," said Blaine. "That looks kind of fun…" and he pinned Kurt's arms to his sides and attacked his ribs, causing the boy to shriek even louder and more piercingly.

"Ow!" said Finn, releasing Kurt's foot to clap his hands over his ears. "That was _shrill_!"

"Tell me about it," said Blaine, rubbing his own ears.

Kurt sat up and straightened his clothes.

"Serves you right," he muttered huffily.

He took a compact mirror from his pocket and opened it.

"_And _you messed up my hair!"

The two older boys rolled their eyes and Kurt couldn't help but grin. This was how it was supposed to be, the three of them, hanging out, _together_.

"What are you so happy about all of a sudden?" asked Blaine.

Kurt just grinned wider.

"I have the best brother and the best boyfriend in the world."

Finn and Blaine both threw their arms around him, mussing his no-longer-perfect hair even more in the process.

"Does this make up for the last couple of weeks, then?" asked Blaine, nuzzling Kurt's neck.

"Well…" said Kurt slowly. "It _would_…if we were then to make cookies and listen to show tunes."

"Done!" said Blaine and Finn.

"And stop doing that," Kurt added to Blaine. "It's distracting."

Blaine laughed and planted a kiss on Kurt's cheek.

"Cookies and show tunes it is then, right this way my good sir."

Finn followed his step-brother and his boyfriend into the Andersons' substantial kitchen. The physical affection between the two boys didn't make him uncomfortable exactly, really they could be quite cute at times, but he wasn't that big on PDA to begin with, and honestly he was still getting used to the sight of two boys kissing and cuddling and holding hands and flirting. But it wasn't a bad thing, he reminded himself; he_ should_ be getting used to it; Kurt and Blaine, and other people like them, deserved to be happy just as much as people like Finn and Quinn did.

"What kind of cookies do you guys want to make?" asked Blaine, opening one of the cupboards. "Finn, any preferences?"

"He likes every kind of cookie known to man," said Kurt, who was hooking up his iPod to the speakers. "I say we make chocolate chip. Nothing beats the classics."

"Sounds good to me, dude," said Finn.

"One batch of chocolate chip cookies, coming right up," said Blaine. "Tube or scratch?"

"Scratch!" said Kurt, looking scandalized. "Put that offensive _thing_ away!"

Blaine waved the cookie dough tube in Kurt's face. Kurt made a grab for it, managed to snatch it from him, and bopped him soundly on the head with it.

"Ow!" Blaine protested, rubbing the top of his curly pate. "Abuse! Finn, your brother is abusing me!"

"This is a lovers' quarrel, dude," said Finn. "I am so not getting involved."

Kurt stuck the tube of cookie dough back in the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs.

"Now, you incompetent, pathetic excuses for human beings, I will demonstrate the proper way to make chocolate chip cookies."

*****BB*****

An hour, several cracked eggs, and an explosion or two of flour later the dough was ready to be formed into cookies.

"_Finn!_ Get your hand out of that bowl!" commanded Kurt.

"We ma'e three batches, Kur'," Finn protested, his mouth full of cookie dough.

"And we want to get three batches of cookies out of them," retorted Kurt.

He turned back to the cabinets and bent over to pull out the cookie sheets. Blaine wolf-whistled.

Kurt straightened up, cookie sheets in hand, to glare at him and noticed a two-finger-sized hole in the cookie dough.

"Finn!" he said, shoving the cookie sheets at his brother so forcefully that the tall boy stumbled back a step.

"What?" he asked, confusion written all over his face.

Blaine giggled.

Kurt rounded on him, gaze narrowing in on the cookie dough beneath his boyfriend's usually pristine fingernails.

Kurt threw up his hands as Finn threw a handful of spilled flour at Blaine. The shorter boy made a face at him and ducked. The flour hit Kurt instead.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, shaking flour from his eyes. "Cut that out!"

He grabbed a chocolate ship off the counter and fired it at Finn, flicking another one at Blaine for good measure.

"Oh! I've been hit!" cried Blaine, clutching his chest and pretending to stagger under the blow.

"Would you two stop acting like such children?" said Kurt, actually stamping his foot. This action only kicked up another cloud of flour dust.

Blaine grinned. His boyfriend was just too adorable when he was annoyed.

"Awww, we're just having fun." He put on his best puppy-dog look.

Kurt rolled his eyes and relented, granting his boyfriend an exasperated smile.

"You are impossible. Both of you."

"I know," said Blaine, grabbing Kurt with an arm around his waist. "That's why you love us."

Kurt pecked him on the nose just as Finn's stomach gave a loud grumble.

"So," he said, somewhat sheepishly, "how about those cookies?"

**AN: Now I want chocolate chip cookies . But I suppose reviews would be just as good *hint hint***

**-SQ**


	9. Chapter 9: Overnight

**Author's Note: Who watched the Tony's? Neil Patrick Harris=so awesome! LOL! Also, who thinks it was an extraordinarily bad idea to air the premiere of **_**The Glee Project**_** at the same time as the Tony's? O.o I watched that online the next day.**

**Anyway, on with the chapter!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: is obvious**

**Chapter Nine: Overnight**

Kurt, Blaine, and Finn were back on the couch, a tvoed episode of Project Runway playing on the TV ("What?" said Blaine when Finn gave him and incredulous look. "I _like_ this show!"), munching on the cookies they had recently finished baking. Kurt was once again sprawled out across the other two, his head in Blaine's lap, his legs draped across Finn's knees. It struck him that this was the first time he had truly had what could be considered 'guy time' in his life.

Blaine yawned, stretched, and checked his watch.

"Wow, I hadn't realized it was that late. It's past ten-thirty."

"Man," said Finn, sitting up so that Kurt's legs slid to the floor. "We should probably get going, Kurt. As it is it'll be after midnight by the time we get home."

"Do you want to just crash here?" asked Blaine. "My parents won't mind as long as we don't break anything or disturb them."

"Are your parents even here?" asked Kurt.

"Not right now," said Blaine. "They're out at some dinner or something. They should be home soon I think. But anyway, it's cool."

"Really, dude?" said Finn. "We don't want to intrude or whatever."

"Yeah, as I said, it's cool, stay," said Blaine. "My mom would be all over me for letting you drive back to Lima at this time of night anyway."

"Thanks, dude," said Finn.

"Wait!" said Kurt. "I can't stay the night here! You may not care about hygiene and how you look, Finn, but _I_ do, and I don't have my pajamas or my toothpaste and toothbrush or my exfoliants or my lotions or my hair products or my—mph!"

Blaine silenced him by the expedient means of placing a hand over his mouth.

"Relax, my high-strung yet completely adorable boyfriend. I am sure that we have an extra toothbrush for you to use, and there is plenty of toothpaste. I am also sure that you can survive one night without your exfoliants and lotions, and I think your hair looks wonderful no matter what you do with it. As for pajamas, you can wear something of mine. Problem solved."

Kurt felt his heart rate increase; the idea of wearing his boyfriend's clothes excited him more than it had any right to.

"Well…I suppose that might be okay…"

Blaine smiled and bent to rub his nose against Kurt's.

"That's my baby."

Kurt rolled his eyes an attempted to swat him. Blaine caught his wrist in mid-swing and kissed his fingertips. Kurt giggled when the kissed became nibbled, his free hand wriggling itself under the collar of Blaine's shirt. Blaine's eyes widened slightly and he pulled up the hem of Kurt's shirt and traced his own free hand down the line of Kurt's slim belly to the waistband of his jeans.

"Ahem."

Blaine and Kurt looked up so fast that they nearly fell off the couch. Finn was standing a few feet away, looking distinctly hot in the face.

Kurt and Blaine, who had forgotten the other boy was even in the room, quickly untangled themselves from each other and sat up straight.

"What should we do now?" asked Finn somewhat awkwardly.

"You guys want to play some videogames?" said Blaine. "I've got three controllers."

*****BB*****

It was half past two in the morning when Blaine happened to glance over at Kurt and see that the younger boy was falling asleep over his controller.

"Hey, babe," he said, scooting over next to Kurt. "You look a little sleepy."

"Just a l-l-little," yawned Kurt, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Blaine chuckled.

"Hey, Finn," he said, pausing the game, "what do you say we call it a night?"

"Why'd you pause the—oh," said Finn as he noticed his brother knuckling his eyes. "Yeah, okay."

"Up you get," said Blaine, hauling Kurt to his feet by his armpits. "Come on, babe, I'm not big enough to carry you up the stairs, you're gonna have to walk by yourself."

Kurt woke up just enough to brush his teeth and pull on the t-shirt and sweatpants Blaine handed him.

"Where're Finn'n I gonna sleep?" asked Kurt, knuckling his eyes again. Then, bringing the fabric of the t-shirt up to his face, "Mmm, it smells like you."

Blaine put an arm around Kurt's waist and drew his boyfriend to him.

"You are so adorable when you're tired. Isn't he adorable when he's tired, Finn?"

"Uh, yeah…" said Finn.

"As much as I'd like to tell you you can sleep in my bed with me, Kurt," said Blaine. "I'd hate to see what my dad would do if he walked in on _that_ one; I'd prefer if I wasn't banned from seeing you ever again. Finn and I can take sleeping bags on the floor and you can have the bed."

Kurt shook his head.

"Finn can have the bed. I'd rather sleep on the floor with you."

Blaine grinned.

"As you wish, Buttercup."

"Buttercup?" said Finn in confusion, but Blaine, who had already gone to get the sleeping bags, didn' hear, and Kurt was too tired to explain.

*****BB*****

Kurt was the first one awake the next morning. He and Blaine had placed their sleeping bags right up next to each other and their heads were currently sharing one pillow. Kurt ran his fingers lazily through his boyfriend's gel-free curls, snuggling as close to the other boy as the separate sleeping bags allowed.

"You're going to get us in trouble," Blaine murmured, turning his head to press his lips to the curve of Kurt's neck.

"How so?"

"I hardly think my parents would be pleased if we came down to breakfast with hard-ons. Or your brother either, for that matter."

Kurt quickly scooted back to a safe distance, blushing furiously.

"Way to ruin the moment."

"Hey, I just said I find you arousing, that's a compliment!"

"This is not the conversation I would have chosen to wake up to," said Finn from the bed.

Kurt buried his face in his hands. Blaine laughed.

"If you're going to hang out with us you're going to have to get used to it," he said. "Because I happen to find your brother very"—he leaned seductively toward Kurt—"_very_ attractive."

Finn shuddered.

"TMI, Man. At least it's you and not me."

There was a moment of tension which was broken by Kurt asking what in the world he was supposed to wear that day, as there was no way in _hell_ he was wearing the same outfit two days in a row. As Blaine looked through his closet for something that would fit Kurt, he wondered again just what kind of history the other two had with each other before they became step-brothers.

*****BB*****

When the three teens arrived downstairs, Kurt freshly showered and dressed in a turquoise shirt and black jeans both belonging to Blaine and both slightly too loose and too short for him, Finn wearing the clothes he had on the day before, Blaine let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding; his dad had already left the house. He had yet to come up with a good explanation for his dad as to why two boys, one of whom was fairly obviously gay and now wearing Blaine's clothes, had spent the night in his bedroom.

"Good morning, sweetheart," said his mother when they entered the kitchen. "Would you like a crepe?"

"Yes, please," said Blaine, "if there are enough. Mom, this is Finn Hudson and Kurt Hummel. They were over here yesterday and it got late more quickly than we realized so I let them stay over since they live in Lima. I hope that's alright."

"Of course!" said Mrs. Anderson, giving no indication that her son had just said the name of the boy he had told her to be his boyfriend, or even that she had heart Kurt's name at all before this instant. "I'm glad you didn't drive all the way back to Lima in the middle of the night, boys. Please, sit down."

Blaine, Kurt, and Finn sat and Mrs. Anderson served them crepes and coffee while chatting animatedly about the weather, TV programs, and the news, making it impossible for the boys to talk amongst themselves.

She didn't ask Kurt or Finn anything about themselves or what they had done last night, in fact she didn't address Kurt directly at all.

After about ten minutes Mrs. Anderson said, "Alright, boys, well, I have to get going, you three have fun now, and be safe. I'll see you later, Blaine." She left the kitchen and a minute later they heard the front door open and then close again.

"You're mom's really nice," said Finn, lifting a heaping forkful of crepe to his mouth.

"She certainly seems that way, doesn't she?" said Blaine.

Kurt looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean by that? Isn't she?"

"Oh, she's nice alright," said Blaine. "Nice to every man, woman, and child she meets. And refuses to admit that there could be anything in her perfect little world that doesn't conform to her definition of 'normal'."

Understanding washed across Kurt.

"She won't admit that you're gay?"

Blaine shook his head.

"Not to herself, not to me, not to anyone else. She seems to think that if she ignores it it will just go away."

Finn put a hand on Blaine's shoulder and Kurt leaned his head against the other one but Blaine shrugged them off, not wanting their pity.

"It doesn't matter. Come on, I'll go with you guys back down to Lima. I can call a cab back later.

**AN: Sleepover! I kind of liked it. Did you? (Not a rhetorical question ;) )**

**-SQ**


	10. Chapter 10: Lunch Date

**Author's Note: This chapter is on the longer side of what's normal for this story, so hopefully that makes you happy :) I rather like the chapter and I hope you do too.**

**Oh, and wahoo for New York!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Doesn't it kind of insult your intelligence that we say we don't own it at the beginning of every chapter? I mean, I know we have to do it, but really.**

**Chapter Ten: Lunch Date**

"So, Blaine…" said Kurt as he pulled the car up in front of his house.

"So what?" said Blaine warily, eyeing his boyfriend. The younger boy was wearing a sly kind of smile that Blaine did not like one little bit.

"Yesterday was Saturday," said Kurt.

"Yes," said Blaine. "It was."

"Which means that today is Sunday."

"Yes…"

"Which means that _we_ are supposed to go out to lunch and _you_ are supposed to pay."

Blaine laughed.

"Ah yes, that was the arrangement, wasn't it?" He leaned forward over Finn's shoulder. "Sorry, Finn, but I'm afraid this is about to turn into a private party."

"No problem, dude," said Finn, quickly exiting the car and giving up his seat to Blaine. "He's all yours. You guys rock, but there's only so much gay I can take at once and I've pretty much reached my limit."

Kurt stuck his tongue out at his step-brother.

"You'd better be careful, making comments like that, Mr."

"Hey, I said you guys rocked!"

Blaine watched the banter and couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something.

"Are you guys going to be at this for long?" he asked. "Because I can come back later…"

He made to leave the car, but Kurt pulled him back inside.

"You're not going anywhere except out to lunch," he said. "With me." He turned back to Finn, his hand still clamped around Blaine's arm.

"See you later, Finn." It was clearly a dismissal.

"Later, bro," Finn agreed.

Finn went into the house and Blaine shut the car door.

"So, where do you want to go?"

Kurt shrugged.

"I don't know. I don't actually eat out very often. And when I do it's usually at Breadstix or the mall. Or the Lima bean with you of course, but that's hardly lunch food."

"Well, if you trust me with your care I can surprise you," said Blaine.

Kurt pursed his lips.

"Alright…" he said finally, "but you'd better be _very_ careful, Blaine Anderson!"

He handed the keys almost reverently to Blaine and they switched places.

"How do you know somewhere in Lime, anyway?" asked Kurt, his hand resting on Blaine's knee as they drove.

"My dad used to take us there when I was little," said Blaine, smiling at the contact of Kurt's hand on his knee. Why had he taken so damn long to get together with this boy? "My mom, my older brother, and me. It's been years, but I think I still remember where it is."

Blaine did remember where it was. As he pulled the car into the parking lot Kurt's jaw fell open.

"Blaine," he squeaked. "We can't eat _here_!"

Blaine looked at him.

"Why not? Don't you like it?"

"It's not that, I—I'm not dressed for it!"

"Don't worry," said Blaine, killing the engine and getting out of the car. "We're dressed fine; formal attire isn't required, you just have to not look like a bum. And trust me," he added, letting his eyes briefly appreciate the sight of Kurt dressed in his clothes, you don't look like a bum."

Kurt, however, remained in the car, staring at the entrance to the high-end restaurant.

Blaine went around to the passenger side, opened the door, and held his hand out to his boyfriend.

"Come on, Kurt. Aren't you hungry?"

Kurt didn't budge.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"Blaine…" said Kurt quietly. "I can't…I can't afford to eat here."

"Oh Kurt," said Blaine, bending down to give the younger boy a hug. "Baby, don't worry about it. I brought you here, it's my treat. We agreed that I'd pay, remember?"

"No, Blaine, I can't let you—"

"Kurt, I _want_ to," said Blaine. "This is still part of my apology to you for being a jerk."

"Yeah, but I thought it'd be at, like, a diner or something," said Kurt. "Not at some place like _this_. I—I'll never be able to take you out to somewhere as nice as this."

"Kurt, baby," said Blaine, "I don't care. Where we go doesn't matter as long as I'm with you." He lifted Kurt's hands and kissed both his palms in turn. "I'd really like for you to come into the restaurant with me, but we can go somewhere else if you want."

"No, if you want to eat here we'll eat here."

"Are you sure?" said Blaine. "It's your choice. This is your day, okay?"

"I know," said Kurt. "I just—I hate having less money than everyone else at Dalton."

"Oh Kurt," said Blaine again, tightening his arms around his boyfriend's slim shoulders. "I didn't know it bothered you so much. None of us even think about it. It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

"Kurt, you are so lucky; you have a loving father, a wonderful step-mother, a frickin' awesome brother… I'd give up all my family's dumb money to have a family like yours."

Kurt sniffled

"It's just—we can barely pay the tuition at Dalton as it is. My Dad and Carole had to give up their honeymoon for it. And I don't want to be taking charity from you."

"What? No! Kurt, it's not charity. I'm buying you lunch because you're my boyfriend. It has nothing to do with how much money either of us has. God." Blaine rubbed his forehead. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Kurt sniffled again and Blaine wiped a couple of escaped tears way with is thumbs.

"Shhh."

"I know you didn't mean to make me feel bad," said Kurt finally. "Lunch?"

Blaine smiled.

"Here or somewhere else?"

"Here is good."

Blaine took Kurt's hands again and pulled him up and out of the car. Kurt's arms went around him and his cheek pressed against Blaine's shoulder. Blaine squeezed him in return.

"You're precious, you know that?" he murmured.

"Mmhmm," said Kurt impishly.

Blaine rolled his eyes and released his boyfriend.

"No more tears?"

"No more tears," Kurt agreed.

"Then come on, precious, let's go in, I'm starving!"

Kurt and Blaine entered the restaurant, waited for the waiter to seat them, and then picked up their menus.

"Wow," said Kurt. "There are so many choices! How am I ever going to make up my mind?"

"Take your time," said Blaine, perusing his menu. "And don't worry about the price," he added sternly. "Since I _have_ access to part of the stupid Anderson miniature fortune I might as well get some use out of it."

Kurt smiled.

"It's times like these I have a hard time remembering you're not perfect."

"Believe me, I'll give you plenty of reasons to remember it soon enough," Blaine assured him. He reached across the table and took Kurt's hand. "Decided what you want yet?"

"Not yet."

"It would help if you read your menu."

"You're distracting me."

Blaine smirked.

"I'm riveting like that."

"I'm hungry."

"Me too."

"Then if you'd kindly let me decide on something so that we can order…"

Eventually Kurt settled on a raspberry, walnut, and feta cheese salad while Blaine ordered a steak and a large order of garlic bread, which he insisted that Kurt share with him.

"Blaine do you know how bad for you that stuff is?" demanded Kurt. "Plus it makes your breath smell."

"But you know it's delicious," said Blaine.

Kurt rolled his eyes and took a slice of garlic bread.

"You are such a bad influence on me, Blaine Anderson."

*****BB*****

Kurt and Blaine were laughing over their shared dessert, a decadent and ridiculously large slice of chocolate fudge cake soaked in rum and drizzled with caramel, when one of the head waiters came over to their table.

"Excuse me, sirs," he said, "but I have received several complaints from some of our other patrons that you have been behaving inappropriately, and I am going to have to ask you to leave the premises."

"What?" said Kurt. "What do you mean, 'behaving inappropriately'?"

"Your conduct does not reflect the image we want to portray at our establishment," said the waiter stiffly, his tone heavy with disapproval. "This is a family restaurant and on behalf of the other patrons we must request that you leave and do not come back."

"What you mean is that our sexuality is not welcome here, is that it?" said Blaine through his gritted teeth.

Kurt laid a hand on his arm.

"Blaine…

"The only thing inappropriate here is you and your disgusting bigotry," said Blaine angrily. "You make me sick! Come on Kurt, let's go." He grabbed his boyfriend's arm, slammed his cash down on the table, and pulled Kurt out of the restaurant, fuming. How dare they ruin his date with Kurt? How _dare_ they? !

Blaine was still shaking with rage when he and Kurt arrived in the parking lot.

"Ugh!" he said, slamming his fist into the side of the building. "Ow!"

"Blaine," said Kurt. "Come on, Blaine, let it go."

Blaine looked up at the other boy. He had his arms wrapped around himself and there were tears shining in his eyes.

"It's not fair!" said Blaine. "I can't even take you out on a date without us being attacked. We weren't _doing_ anything to them. There were other couples in there being more obvious about it than we were. But of course they were _straight_."

"Blaine, forget it, it's not worth it."

"They ruined our date!"

"Blaine—"

"They ruined my apology to you."

"Blaine, stop it. No, they didn't, I accept your apology."

"I took you there and you got harassed!" said Blaine. "I should have known—a place my Dad used to take us…"

"Blaine, replaying it in your mind isn't going to help anything," said Kurt.

Blaine sighed. "I'm sorry, Kurt, you're right. I just… What would help right now?"

"Well, I could really use a hug."

Blaine enfolded Kurt tightly in his arms and the taller boy sniffled against his shoulder.

"Shhhh," said Blaine. "Shhh, don't cry, baby, you're better than all of them." He pressed his lips to Kurt's hair.

Blaine felt Kurt's lips curve into a smile.

"Did you hurt your hand?" the brunet asked.

Blaine flexed his fingers experimentally.

"Ouch."

Kurt pulled back and took Blaine's injured hand in both of his own.

"I think it's only bruised." He brought the scraped and reddened fingers to his lips. "Let's go back to my house and put some ice on it, okay?"

Blaine nodded.

"This is really going to make English class tomorrow a bitch," he said.

"Well you should have thought of that before you punched that wall."

"Touché."

**AN: Assholes. Not you, the people at the restaurant. And I keep intending to have Kurt & Finn's history come up and the right place to put it in keeps evading me. I'm **_**planning**_** on it making its way into the next chapter, so let's hope that happens, kay? :) Happy reviewing! ;)**

**-SQ**


	11. Chapter 11: Perfect

**Author's Note: I know none of my chapters are particularly long, but this one is a bit longer than many of the others. Enjoy!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Ryan Murphy & FoxSnakequeen-in-Norway**

**Chapter Eleven: Perfect**

Kurt and Blaine drove back to Kurt's house and went into the kitchen to get an icepack for Blaine's hand, which was still throbbing painfully.

"I'm home!" Kurt called as he opened the freezer. "How does it feel baby?"

"Hey, dude," called Finn from the living room where the sounds of the TV, probably playing a sports game, could be heard.

Blaine shrugged. "It hurts like a b—it hurts."

Kurt raised his eyebrows at his boyfriend.

"Blaine Anderson, did you just almost swear?"

Blaine gave him his most innocent look.

Kurt and Blaine entered the living room and found Finn and Puck seated on the couch watching a baseball game.

"Hi, Puck," said Kurt, sitting down beside his stepbrother. "Finn, move over and make room for Blaine."

"Hey, Kurt," said Puck. "Long time no see. How's it going at that preppy school?"

"It's not a preppy school, Puck, and it's going well," said Kurt, smiling as Blaine wedged himself onto the couch beside him.

"Hi, Puck," said Blaine.

"Yo," said Puck.

"Dude," said Finn, "what happened to your hand?"

"I punched a wall," said Blaine ruefully.

"Badass!" said Puck, fist-bumping Blaine's good hand.

"Not really," said Blaine. "It just kind of hurt. A lot."

"Dude, why would you punch a wall?" asked Finn. "What did the wall do to you?"

Blaine laughed. "Nothing, Finn. I was just kind of pi—kind of mad."

"No kidding!" said Puck.

"What were you mad about?" asked Finn.

Kurt and Blaine exchanged glances.

"Nothing," they said at the same time.

"Boop, boop, boop, BS alert," said Puck, simulating flashing lights with his hands. "Come on guys, even Finn's not that dense."

"Thanks," said Finn sarcastically.

"Any time, man. So," Puck added, turning back to the other two boys, "what's the dope?"

Kurt bit his lip.

"Some people at the restaurant we went to for lunch were just giving us a hard time," said Blaine.

"How so?" asked Finn.

"Oh, you know," said Kurt vaguely.

"No, we don't know," said Puck. "Why don't you tell us?"

"It's not that big of a deal," said Kurt.

"Why don't you let us be the judges of that?" said Puck. He turned his slightly menacing gaze on Blaine. "Well…?"

"The waiter told us to leave the restaurant because we were being 'inappropriate'," sighed Kurt. "In other words, because we were gay."

"_Were_ you being inappropriate?" asked Finn.

"No!" said Kurt and Blaine angrily.

"Okay, okay!" said Finn, holding up his hands. "I was just asking!"

"Look, it doesn't matter," said Blaine.

"Of course it matters!" said Finn. "If you weren't doing anything wrong!"

Puck cracked his knuckles. "Do you want me to go down there and bust some heads?"

"No, Puck," said Kurt. "Thanks for the offer, but just leave it, okay?"

"It's not fair that they do that stuff to you, bro," said Finn. "You and Blaine should be able to go on a date without that kind of shit happening to you."

"I _know_ Finn," said Kurt tiredly. "It's not use getting angry over it now, though."

He dropped his head onto Blaine's shoulder. Blaine kissed his hair.

"I can't help being angry!" said Finn in frustration. Puck's face showed the same sentiment.

"Join the club," said Blaine, holding up his injured hand.

Kurt lifted his head to inspect his boyfriend's hand.

"You're lucky it's not broken," he said, gently stretching the bruised fingers.

"Ow!" Blaine protested, wincing. Kurt rolled his eyes and pressed the icepack back against them.

Finn, who was still glowering, moved closer to Kurt as though he could protect him from the world's homophobes.

Kurt smiled at him and rolled his eyes again.

"I'm fine, Finn."

"If I had been there…"

"Then it would have been a pretty lousy date," said Kurt with a smirk.

"How long're you staying, Blaine?" asked Puck.

Blaine shrugged. "I dunno. You?"

"Same," said Puck. "I live closer than you, though."

Blaine shrugged again. "True."

The four of them watched TV for a while, Kurt not really paying attention to the game as he gently stroked Blaine's injured hand.

After a few minutes Kurt asked, "Blaine, why _did_ you get so angry? I mean, I hate it too, but you kind of…lost it. I've only seen you go off like that once before."

"You have?" said Finn, looking curiously at the usually dapper boy. "When?"

"Um…" said Kurt, attempting to backpedal, "I don't—"

"Blaine, you been messing with my boy Kurt?" said Puck threateningly.

"I lost it at him last week when he was giving me the cold shoulder for being a jerk."

"He hit you? !" said Finn in outrage.

"What? No!" said Blaine, horrified. "I would never! I—"

Kurt wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and glared daggers at his brother.

"Of course he didn't! Why would you even say something like that?"

"I—you said you'd seen him lose it like that once before—and this time he punched a wall…"

"He just yelled at me," said Kurt. "And he apologized afterward. And I was acting like a spoiled brat."

"Dude, I'm sorry," said Finn somewhat sheepishly. He leaned across Kurt. "Blaine?"

"It's cool," said Blaine, waving his hand. "Ouch!" The hand, his injured one, had struck the back of the couch.

"So why _did_ you go off those times?" asked Finn as Kurt pressed the ice pack to his boyfriend's hand once more.

"I just hate feeling so helpless," he said. "Like, really."

Kurt rubbed his shoulder. "I know, baby."

_No_, thought Blaine, turning his face to inhale the intoxicating scent that was Kurt, _you really don't, but that's okay…_

*****BB*****

Carole came home at five-thirty to find the four boys still curled up on the couch in front of the television.

"Oh, hello Puck, hello Blaine."

"Hello, Mrs. Hudson-Hummel."

"'Sup Mrs. H?"

"Are you boys staying for dinner?"

"Yeah," said Puck. "If that's alright with you."

"Of course," said Carole. "How about you, Blaine?"

"No, I'd better not," said Blaine, standing up. "My mom'll expect me home for dinner."

"Oh, Blaine, what happened to your hand?"

"Oh, it's nothing Mrs. Hudson-Hummel, I—

"He punched a wall with it," said Puck smugly.

Blaine rolled his eyes at Puck. "Really?"

The mowhawked boy just shrugged insolently.

"You punched a wall?" said Carole in confused concern.

"Oh, yeah, I—"

"Some jerk waiter at the restaurant asked them to leave because they're gay," said Finn.

"Will no one let me complete my own sentences?" complained Blaine.

"Did he really?" asked Carole.

"Not in so many words," said Blaine, "but that was what he meant."

Carole shook her head and gave them each a hug.

"You're sure you won't stay for dinner, Blaine?"

"I'd better not," said Blaine regretfully. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay Kurt?"

"Okay." Kurt pecked him on the lips.

Puck made a face. Finn swatted him.

"See ya, dude!" said Finn.

"Bye, Finn. Nice to see you, Puck."

"Later," said Puck.

"Kurt," said Carole, "would you come help me with dinner?"

"My pleasure."

Kurt followed Carole into the kitchen.

"What are you planning on making?"

"I was thinking stuffed peppers," said Carole.

"Delicious," said Kurt, going to the cabinet and pulling out a baking pan while his stepmother filled her arms with ingredients from the fridge. "Better make a lot with both Finn and Puck here."

Carole laughed. "Believe me, I know."

They set to work, Kurt chopping the peppers and Carole mixing the stuffing. Kurt loved cooking with his stepmom; it reminded him of the time he had spent with his mother when he was very small, before she got sick.

"Kurt," said Carole, taking the cut peppers he handed her, "thanks. Are you okay after what happened at the restaurant?"

"Yes, I'm fine," said Kurt.

"What exactly did the waiter say to you two?"

Kurt shrugged irritably.

"Just that he was going to have to ask us to leave because he had received complaints from other patrons about our 'inappropriate behavior.'"

"What did you do then?" asked Carole.

"Blaine got really mad at the waiter and yelled at him and then we left."

"And then Blaine punched a wall?"

"Yes," said Kurt. "Can we not talk about this?"

"Has Blaine been violent like that before?" asked Carole lightly.

"What?" said Kurt. "No, he's not violent at all, Blaine's, like, the antithesis of violent."

"And yet he punched a wall," Carole pointed out.

"He was just angry," said Kurt.

"Does he get angry like that often?"

"_No,"_ said Kurt. "I mean, he's a little overprotective of me, but…"

"How so?"

"He really doesn't like it when people mess with me. He's gotten up in people's faces a couple times, but even then he's usually really cool and collected. He's _Blaine_."

"That doesn't really tell me much," said Carole. She turned to Kurt. "You've only known this boy for a few months, how much do you really know about him?"

"Enough," said Kurt. "God!" He threw up his hands. "Why is everyone turning on Blaine?"

"What do you mean, sweetie? Who else is 'turning on' him?"

Kurt sighed. "Finn was just…he was asking what you're asking, about if Blaine had gotten this made before, and when he said he's lost it at me—"

"When was this?" said Carole sharply.

"Last week at rehearsal, during all the drama then. I'd been giving him the cold shoulder and he got fed up with it. He didn't hit more or anything, he just yelled, and he apologized for it later. He's not usually like that."

"What did he say to you?"

"Look, Carole, we were both really angry with each other. Finn and Rachel fought all the time when they were together. Well, Rachel fought with Finn all the time."

"I'm just worried about you, honey," said Carole as she slid the peppers into the oven. "Sometimes guys can seem really sweet and compassionate, but after a while, or when they get angry…"

"Blaine _is_ really sweet and compassionate," said Kurt. "He would never hurt me."

"That's what a lot of abuse victims think."

"Oh my God!" said Kurt. "You think Blaine's _abusing_ me! ?"

"Of course not, sweetheart," said Carole. "I'm just saying that you shouldn't discount this temper that you say you've been seeing in him recently."

"Blaine is amazing," said Kurt stubbornly.

"I'm sure he is, Kurt," said Carole, "and from what I've seen of him he seems like a charming young man. But I wouldn't have expected him to be the type to lose his temper either, and he obviously has. Just be aware, okay? No one is perfect.

_Blaine is_ thought Kurt resentfully. _Blaine is perfect._

**AN: No, I do not plan on turning Blaine into a terrible abusive boyfriend, but Kurt does have to learn that the poor kid isn't perfect. Also, I plan on having songs in this fic eventually, I even know what songs & when, it just hasn't reached that point in the plot yet.**

**Thanks for reading, now I would love to read your reviews ;)**

**-SQ**


	12. Chapter 12: Bad Idea, Good Idea

**Author's Note: Okay, this weekend I've basically not written. Thursday night I spent the night at my friend's house so we could leave for a road trip Friday morning & we didn't get home till Monday evening. During that time I typed up this chapter, which was longhanded before I left, & longhanded about 3 notebook pages of 'Adorable Mess'. & also listened to a lot of music, drove for hundreds of miles, and watched episodes of **_**The Nanny **_**& **_**Doctor Who**_** on my laptop. I will get back onto writing this week I hope but, as always, I'm kind of busy, so I'll do the best I can. This chapter is even longer than the last 2, over 2000 words. I tried to cut it into 2 chapters but there wasn't a good place to do that, so over 2000 words it remains. You probably don't mind.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Covering my ass by redundantly stating that I do not own Glee**

**Chapter Twelve: Bad idea, Good idea**

Kurt was in a bad mood. All he had wanted was to go on a date with his boyfriend; a reasonable desire, he thought, seeing as their last one had been summarily ruined. He had explained this, quite rationally, to his parents, but unfortunately he and they were not seeing eye to eye on the matter.

"You are not staying out that late on a school night, end of story," said Burt firmly as he set the plates for dinner.

"Why doesn't anyone trust us? God!" said Kurt, slamming down the silverware so forcefully that the table rattled.

"It has nothing to do with trust, buddy," said Burt. "We simply don't want you out that late on a school night."

"I'm not ten anymore, Dad!"

"You're right, you're not," said Burt. "You're sixteen, and it's about time you started acting like it."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Kurt, I know I've babied you a bit since your mm died, and so maybe this is partially my fault, but you're not the only person in this house and you don't make the rules. Carole thinks, and I agree, that it isn't appropriate for two teenagers to be out so late on a school night."

"Carole's not my mother," spat Kurt.

"Go to your room, Kurt."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said," said Burt. "Go to your room. I will call you down when dinner's ready."

"Ugh!" yelled Kurt, throwing the last fork down on the table. "Why do people in this house have to ruin _everything_?"

*****BB*****

*Buzz buzz buzz* *Buzz buzz buzz*

Kurt grabbed his phone off his bedside table and looked at the screen, his glare softening when he saw the illuminated name.

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_To: Kurt Hummel_

_Hey baby, we still on for tonight?_

Kurt hesitated for a minute and then typed back.

_From: Kurt Hummel_

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_Yeah, text me when you get here and I'll meet you out front._

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_To: Kurt Hummel_

_Sweet. I'll see you in an hr ½, 2 hrs, k?_

_From: Kurt Hummel_

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_I can't wait :)_

*****BB*****

An hour and forty-five minutes later, after a dinner eaten in sullen (on Kurt's part), confused (on Finn's), and resigned (their parents') silence, Kurt's phone buzzed once more.

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_To: Kurt Hummel_

_I'm here_

_From : Kurt Hummel_

_To: Blaine Anderson_

_K. Be down in a sec_

Kurt shoved his phone into his pocket, slung his bag over his shoulder, and stuck his head out into the hall. All clear. He could see the light from under Finn's bedroom door indicating that his step-brother was inside at least ostensibly working on his homework. As he tiptoed down the stairs sounds from the kitchen told him that his dad and Carole were still cleaning up. Practically holding his breath, his heart pounding in his throat, Kurt opened the front door and slipped out, closing it as gently as possible behind him. Blaine's car was waiting for him across the street.

"Hey, beautiful," said Blaine as Kurt let himself into the passenger side.

"Hey yourself, sexy," said Kurt, leaning across the gap between the seats to place a peck on his boyfriend's lips.

Blaine smiled sappily, his heart melting just a little as he returned the kiss.

"I will never get used to you calling me that."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "People call you sexy all the time, Blaine. You _are_ sexy."

"I know," said Blaine, earning himself another eye roll, "but 'people' aren't _you_."

"Shameless flattery," said Kurt. "Absolutely shameless flattery." He rubbed his nose against Blaine's. "Are we actually going to go somewhere, or are we just going to sit here all night?"

"Well, if you'd sit in your own seat…"

Kurt blushed and climbed out of Blaine's lap.

"So, where are we going?"

"Well, there's this laser light show they're putting on in in Robb Park tonight and I thought you might be interested in going.

"A light show?" said Kurt. "Boy, is Finn going to be jealous."

"Well, we could invite him too… I'm kidding," he added as Kurt opened his mouth to protest. "This is a strictly brother-free date."

Blaine drove the twenty-five minutes to the park. Although the show didn't start another half hour the grass was already sprinkled liberally with blankets. Kurt and Blaine found an empty patch large enough for themselves and their bags and some space around them and spread out their own blanket.

"This is going to be so neat," Kurt breathed, lying back on the blanket, his fingers interlaced with Blaine's.

Blaine laughed low in his throat. "I hope so."

It was neat. Beams of light in every color of the visible spectrum streaked across the night sky over their heads in an endlessly shifting pattern. Kurt and Blaine slowly moved closer together until Kurt was curled snugly in the crook of Blaine's arm, Blaine's head resting against his shoulder as the two of them gazed up at the rainbow-shot heavens. Kurt let out a little exclamation of delight at every new beam above them and Blaine was sure there was no one in the world more adorable than his boyfriend.

"So?" asked Blaine when the last of the lasers had faded from the inky sky and the people around them began to gather up their belongings.

"Best. Date. _Ever_," said Kurt, a grin nearly splitting his shining face in half as he turned his head to look at the boy lying beside him.

"I'm glad you liked it," said Blaine, trying not to laugh at the expression on the other boy's face.

"Liked it?" said Kurt. "I loved it!"

Blaine rose and pulled his boyfriend to his feet, gathering him against him for a lingering kiss. Kurt nibbled Blaine's lower lip and slipped his tongue into his mouth.

"Mmmm," murmured Blaine, running his hands down to Kurt's slim waist, pulling him even closer; God, this _boy_. "We should…go home…it's late…and we have school tomorrow…"

Kurt pulled away reluctantly.

"One of these days, Blaine Anderson, I am going to ravage you. I won't be able to help myself."

Blaine wrapped one arm around Kurt's waist and one around the rolled-up blanket.

"I look forward to it."

*****BB*****

Blaine's car pulled up in front of Kurt's house at ten minutes after eleven. Burt and Carole were waiting for them on the front steps.

"Uh-oh," said Kurt.

"What—" started Blaine.

"Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, you are in _so_ much trouble."

"Kurt, what—"

"Get out of the car," said Burt, grabbing his son by the shoulders and pulling him from the passenger seat.

"I have _never_ been so shocked and disappointed in my life," said Burt. "_Sneaking out of the house_, Kurt? Going out on a date when you were expressly told not to? I don't know what has gotten into you lately, but I don't like it. And if you were looking for a way to convince us that you and Blaine deserve our trust, this was _definitely_ not it. I'm starting to think that Blaine is a bad influence on you."

"Dad!" said Kurt. "Dad, Blaine didn't know! I didn't tell him—he thought you'd said yes!"

Blaine looked stricken.

"He—he wasn't supposed to go? Mr. Hummel, I didn't—"

"Lying to your parents and your boyfriend, Kurt?" Burt sent a piercing look at Blaine. "Who taught you to do things like that? Because it sure as hell wasn't me."

"Mr. Hummel, I'm so sorry, I had no idea—"

"I think you'd better go, Blaine," said Carole. "Kurt will see you at school tomorrow."

"I—uh—yeah."

He shut the door, started the engine, and pulled away from the curb as Burt and Carole escorted a furious and sobbing Kurt into the house.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?" Burt exploded as soon as the three of them were inside the house.

"You didn't have to yell at me in front of Blaine!" Kurt shot back.

"I am your father, I'll yell at you in front of whoever I please!" said Burt.

"It was _embarrassing_!"

"Well you should have thought of that before you snuck out of the house with him," said Carole.

"He didn't know!"

"But you did," said Burt. "You're grounded. For two weeks."

"_Two weeks?"_ Kurt looked appealing at Carole.

"You heard your father, two weeks."

Finn's head appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What's going on?" he said sleepily.

"Go back to bed, Finn," said Carole. "You too, Kurt."

"I don't have to listen to you," said Kurt stubbornly. "You're not my mother!"

"Well I _am_ your father," said Burt. "And I'm telling you to march your butt up to bed."

"Fine!" shouted Kurt, and stormed upstairs past his very confused step-brother.

"Kurt, what—?"

"Leave me alone!"

"Go to bed, Finn," said his mother.

"But what's going on? Is Kurt okay?"

"He's just upset, Finn, go to bed."

Finn turned around and went back up to the second floor. He hesitated outside of Kurt's room, tapping lightly on the door and calling softly, "Kurt? What happened? Do you wanna, like, talk?"" But when he received no answer he continued to his own room and soon fell asleep.

*****BB*****

Kurt arrived at school the next day barely on time, running from the parking lot and sliding into his seat just as the second bell rang.

"Blaine."

The soloist didn't respond.

"_Blaine."_

The older boy put a finger to his lips.

"Blaine—"

"Shhh, class is starting."

"But Blaine—"

"I'll talk to you later; I'm trying to concentrate on the lesson."

"Come on, don't pull that on me! You hate this class!"

"Mr. Hummel, Mr. Anderson, please refrain from talking during my class."

Kurt waited until the bell that signaled the end of class and then immediately accosted his boyfriend.

"Blaine, about last night—"

"Not right now, Kurt."

"Blaine, just listen to me—"

"You lied to me, Kurt," said Blaine. "You told me it was okay with your parents."

"I thought it _would_ be! How was I supposed to know my dad would decide to be a dick and say no?"

"You should have told me," said Blaine.

"But it wasn't _fair_!"

"And it wasn't fair of you to lie to me," said Blaine. "You may not care about having your parents' trust, Kurt, but I do. From what you told me last week I'm kind of on thin ice with them anyway,"

"Blaine, you didn't do anything wrong!"

"No," said Blaine through gritted teeth, "I didn't. You did. But it sure _looks_ like I did. You used me, Kurt."

"What—?"

"You used me to rebel against your parents. And I don't like being used. Or lied to." He shut his eyes, taking deep even breaths. "I'm really angry with you right now, Kurt, so please just leave me alone."

"But Blaine—"

"_Now_, Kurt!"

Kurt flinched and his eyes welled with tears.

"Fine," he muttered. "See you later, Blaine."

*****BB*****

Kurt and Blaine didn't talk to each other for the rest of the day and went through Warbler's rehearsal in a chilly silence that had Wes and David casting anxious looks between the two of them.

When Kurt got home he went straight to his room and threw himself down on his bed.

*Knock knock knock*

"Bro? Are you in there?

Kurt didn't answer, merely glared at the place where the wall met the floor across from his bed.

*Knock knock knock*

"Kurt? I know I just heard you come home."

Kurt still refused to answer his step-brother.

"Come on, dude, I know you're in there. Can I come in?"

"Go away, Finn."

The bedroom door opened a crack.

"I said go _away_."

"Dude, the last time I went away when you told me to you got mad at me for it." Finn stepped fully into the room. "You're not mad at me again, are you?"

"No, Finn, please, just go away."

Instead Finn crossed the room and crouched beside Kurt's bed.

"You wanna tell me what's wrong, bro?"

"I'm not your brother."

Finn looked as though Kurt had just kicked him in the face. A twinge of guilt stirred in Kurt's stomach.

"Finn, I'm sorry." He sat up. "I'm just…I'm upset, and you're an easy person to take it out on."

"What are you upset about?"

"Everyone's mad at me! My dad and your mom are mad at me for sneaking out to meet Blaine last night, Blaine's mad at me for not telling him I wasn't supposed to go, my first period teacher is mad at me for talking in class, Wes, David, and Thad are mad at me for being distracted during Warblers rehearsal…"

"I'm not mad at you."

Kurt looked up at Finn with a small smile.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Kurt lay back down with his head on Finn's knee.

"I'm sorry I said I wasn't your brother, I didn't mean it."

"I know."

Kurt snuggled down into Finn's lap and the larger boy patted his head.

"I wish I could talk to Blaine," Kurt sighed.

"Why can't you?"

"I'm grounded," said Kurt morosely. "For two weeks. I can't talk to him until school on Monday."

Finn got a thoughtful look on his face.

"I don't see why you can't see Blaine this weekend."

"Because I'm _grounded_, Finn," said Kurt slowly, as though talking to a small child. "I'm not allowed to go out or have anyone over or talk to anyone on the phone."

"Yeah," said Finn. "You're grounded. But I'm not."

Kurt quirked an eyebrow. "Finn, did you just have an idea?"

Finn grinned down at his step-brother. "It happens every once in a while."

**AN: Okay, so Blaine still has some issues, and Finn is being super sweet & Kurt is kind of a spoiled brat sometimes, but a very adorable one. Oh yeah, and Finn had an idea :) I also have an idea, you reviewing ;)**

**-SQ**


	13. Chapter 13: Idea in Action

**Author's Note: At least it hasn't been more than 2 weeks, right? The next 3 weeks are going to be insanely busy for me, but I'll do the best I can as far as writing & updating go. Hope you like the chapter and thanks for reading!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: The renouncing, repudiating, or denying of a claim, such as one to **_**Glee**_

**Chapter Thirteen: Idea in Action**

"Hey, mom, can I have some friends over today?"

Carole looked up at her son, who was currently pouring himself a glass of orange juice from a pitcher in the fridge.

"I don't see why not. Who were you thinking of?"

Finn shrugged, keeping his gaze fixed intently on the cereal he was now pouring. "Whoever's free, I guess."

"Well that sounds fine," said Carole. "I'm going to be home all day doing housework and paying bills if you need anything. Burt's out buying supplies for the garage."

"Cool, thanks mom," said Finn through a mouthful of cornflakes.

"That's gross, Finn, don't talk with your mouth full," said Kurt, coming into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator. "_Finn_, you've drunk all the orange juice! Now I'll have to go to the story and get…" he trailed off. "Right. Now I'll have to drink milk instead."

Carole gave a mental sigh. Kurt still wasn't on speaking terms with anyone in the house besides Finn. She knew he'd come around eventually, he just needed time to cool down, but it did hurt a little to have someone she was usually so close with acting as though she didn't exist.

"I'm gonna go, um, call the guys now, you know, the one's I'm gonna invite over," said Finn as Kurt sat down at the table with his milk and low-fat cranberry-walnut muffin. Internally Kurt groaned. Could Finn be any more awkward if he _tried_? He might as well have "I'm hiding something" written in wide-tip marker across his forehead.

Luckily Carole, who was unloading the dishwasher, just nodded and Finn left the room with to no further blundering. Kurt finished his breakfast quickly and followed after, settling himself on his bed with the latest issue of _Vogue_ magazine. At least _that_ hadn't been taken away from him.

Finn and Kurt had agreed that it would seem less suspicious if Finn invited several of his friends over rather than just Blaine. Not that Finn inviting Blaine over would normally be cause for suspicion, but with Kurt grounded and Blaine on uncertain ground with Burt and Carole the brothers didn't want to risk the curly-haired warbler being turned away at the door.

Finn opened his facebook page, saw that Puck was online, and sent him a chat message before selecting Sam's number from his phone book and pressing 'call'.

**Finn Hudson: Hey, dude. You got any plans for today?**

*Riiiiiiiiiing, riiiiiiiiiiing, riiiiiiiiiing*

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Sam, you doing anything today?"

**Noah Badass Puckerman: Nothing I can't blow off, why?**

"_I was supposed to watch Stacy and Stevie, but they've both got play dates now so I'm wide open."_

**Finn Hudson: I'm looking for some ppl to come hang at my place**

"You wanna come over here, then?"

**Noah Badass Puckerman: I'm down. When?**

"_Sure. What time were you thinking?"_

**Finn Hudson: Whenever**

"Whenever."

**Noah Badass Puckerman: Cool. Be there in a bit**

"_Alright. See you soon, Finn."_

**Finn Hudson: K**

"Okay, bye Sam."

Finn then sent chat messages to Artie and Mike, asking if they wanted to come over. Artie responded that he had plans with his family and Mike didn't respond at all. Finn tried his phone and also got no answer, so he closed his laptop and selected Blaine's name from his phone book. The other boy answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Finn," he said, sounding surprised.

"Hey, Blaine," said Finn, trying to sound casual. "Are you doing anything today?"

"Um, no, nothing in particular," said Blaine. "I was going to see a movie with Wes and David, but David just called to tell me he's sick and Wes was never too keen on the movie in the first place."

"Well, Puck and Sam are coming over to my house if you want to join us."

Blaine didn't miss the tone of awkwardness in Finn's voice, but couldn't think of what might be causing it.

"Um, sure," he said. "Give me a minute to do a couple things and then I'll head over. It'll take me a while though, since I live in Westerville—"

"No problem, dude," said Finn, sounding slightly relieved, "we'll see you when we see you."

As soon as he had ended the call Kurt stuck his head into the room. "So?"

Finn grinned. "He's coming."

"Thanks, Finn."

"No problem, bro, it's no fun around here when you're sad."

Kurt came fully into the room.

"Oh, so you're only doing this for selfish reasons?"

"No, dude, I—"

"Teasing, Finn," said Kurt with a roll of his eyes, sitting down on the edge if Finn's bed. He sighed. "I acted like a spoiled brat again yesterday and Thursday, didn't I?"

"Uh, kinda, yeah," said Finn.

"You think Blaine'll forgive me?"

"Of course he will. He's crazy about you."

Kurt smiled.

"Give me a hug?"

Finn wrapped an arm around Kurt's shoulders and squeezed. Kurt squeezed back. The doorbell rang.

"That'll be Puck or Sam," said Finn, standing up. "You alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm just being needy," said Kurt. "Go answer the door, Finn, I'll be in my room, working on my homework."

"You mean reading your _Vogue_ magazine."

"No," said Kurt haughtily. "Not everyone has your study habits, Finn."

"I don't read _Vogue_!"

"You know what I mean, Finn."

"Finn!" Carole called up the stairs. "Sam's here!"

"Tell him to come upstairs!" shouted Finn. "You can hang out with us if you want," he said to Kurt.

"No, it's okay," said Kurt. "Maybe later. I really do have homework to do. Just tell me when Blaine gets here.

"Will do, bro."

*****BB*****

Blaine was halfway to Finn's house when something occurred to him that he should have remembered a _lot_ sooner: Finn's house was also _Kurt's_ house, and he was now driving toward the boyfriend he was in the middle of a semi-fight with. Blaine remembered the awkward quality of Finn's voice on the phone and his mouth twisted, unsure whether he was amused or annoyed.

_I've been duped._

*****BB*****

Kurt's nerves were distinctly frayed by the time the doorbell rang for the third time. He started so violently that he nearly toppled off of his bed and onto the floor. Picking himself up, he reached for his phone just as it chimed with a text from Finn.

_He's here_

Kurt opened his bedroom door and strained his ears to hear what was going on in the entry hall below.

"Hey, dude," said Finn, opening the door and then stepping aside to allow Blaine to enter. "Come in. Puck and Sam are upstairs. We just made a crap load of popcorn."

Blaine followed Finn up the stairs, wondering if he had been wrong about Finn's intentions in inviting him here. He was trying to decide which situation would be more awkward when they reached the second floor landing and the door across from them opened.

"Blaine."

"Kurt."

"I'll, um, just give you two a minute," said Finn, hurriedly making his escape to his own room.

Kurt looked pale and nervous; his fingers twined and untwined in front of him and his lips had been bitten to a brilliant shade of red.

There was an awkward silence in which Kurt's fingers twisted and untwisted a few more times.

"Are you still mad at me?" he mumbled finally, staring at Blaine's high end sneakers.

Blaine crossed to Kurt and took his hands, gently separating them and kissing his fingertips before pulling the other boy against him.

"How can I be mad at you when you look like that?"

Kurt hugged Blaine fiercely, tears stinging his eyes.

"When did you realize we'd tricked you into coming?"

"When I was about halfway here. Don't cry Kurt."

"Are you angry?"

"Not anymore. Please don't cry."

Kurt pulled back, sniffling, but kept his hands in Blaine's. "I can't help it. Can we talk?"

"Yes."

Kurt led Blaine into his room and shut the door.

"I'm going to be honest with you so you can't accuse me of lying. I'm grounded right now; I'm not allowed to go out or have anyone over or talk to anyone on the phone. Finn invited you over so we could talk, but if Carole finds you in here I'm in big trouble." Kurt chanced a glance at Blaine's face. It was unreadable. "Will you stay?"

Blaine sighed and let go of Kurt's hands, running one of his own through his gelled curls.

"Kurt, if Carole catches me in here she might never let me come back."

Kurt nodded, his teeth visible on his trembling lower lip. "Okay…you can go to Finn's room, or leave, or whatever."

Kurt felt a hand on his cheek and looked up into gorgeous hazel eyes. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that my dad and Carole said no," said Kurt. "I didn't think it was fair for them not to let me go, but it wasn't fair for me to put you in the position I put you it either. I wasn't…I wasn't thinking."

Blaine kissed Kurt's chestnut hair. "And I'm sorry I snapped at you at school yesterday. I know I was overreacting. I just _really_ want your family to like me. I needed to cool down before I could talk to you rationally. The last think I wanted was to lose my temper at you again. I don't exactly handle things well when I'm angry.

Kurt smiled slightly. "So I've seen." He snuggled up to Blaine, the older boy let him. "You weren't the only one who was acting irrationally."

"Yeah…it really wasn't cool what you did, Kurt."

"I know. I feel really bad about it."

"Well," said Blaine, "I guess we're even now."

Kurt looked at him curiously.

"For me being a jerk about my friendship with Finn," Blaine clarified.

"But I didn't exactly display my most mature behavior in that whole fiasco either," said Kurt. "And you made it up to me."

"Well, you'll just have to make this up to me then."

Kurt tilted his face toward Blaine's. "So…are we okay?"

"Yes," said Blaine with a smile. "I think we're okay."

"Kiss me?"

Blaine pressed his lips to Kurt's for several seconds, licking Kurt's bottom lip as he pulled away.

Kurt touched his own tongue to the spot, tasting the flavor that was uniquely Blaine.

"I hate fighting with you."

"Believe me, I hate fighting with you too."

"I guess it's pointless to promise it will never happen again?" said Kurt.

Blaine smiled slightly. "Probably." He gave Kurt a last squeeze and then sat up, placing a kiss on his forehead. "I should go. I don't want to get either of us in any more trouble."

"Go and play video games with Finn and Puck and Sam," said Kurt. "That's what you're supposed to be here for."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have some damage to repair with Carole."

**AN: I'm happy you read this, I'll be even happier if you review it ;)**

**-SQ**


	14. Chapter 14: Teamwork

**Author's Note: Not much happens in this chapter really, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Loving is not owning**

**Chapter Fourteen: Teamwork**

Carole was sitting at the dining room table, phone to her ear, receipts spread out in front of her, balancing her checkbook and paying her bills. She became aware of a presence in the doorway behind her and, after finishing her current transaction, laid the phone aside.

"Yes, Finn?"

"Um, actually it's me."

Carole turned around. "Oh, hello Kurt. What can I do for you?"

Kurt fidgeted. "If you're busy I can come back later. I don't want to interrupt."

"You're not interrupting, at least nothing that can't wait until later." Carole patted the chair beside her. "What did you want, Kurt?"

Kurt sat. "I'm sorry I snuck out of the house to meet Blaine," he said, staring at the floor. "And I'm sorry I said that you weren't my mother."

Carole brushed his bangs out of his downcast eyes. "You were right, I'm not your mother. Your mother was a very special person, Kurt, and I would never presume to try and take her place. I do care about you, though, Kurt, and I want to be the best stepmother I can be."

Kurt sniffled. "I know. I care about you too. And you are a good stepmother; I know I'm really lucky to have you."

Carole smiled and drew Kurt into a hug.

"I'm lucky to have you, too, Kurt. And I'm glad you're talking to me again."

Kurt sniffled again. "Me too. I wish I hadn't said those stupid things to you. I felt awful as soon as I said them."

"I know you did, honey. So, are we good?"

Kurt hugged his stepmother and wiped his eyes. "Yeah, we're good. I, uh, don't suppose you could un-ground me now?"

"Not a chance, kiddo."

"Didn't think so."

Kurt had his lip between his teeth, the point of his pencil scratching out a string of numbers and symbols, working out the complex equation as he went. Just two more steps, and, if he had done everything right, he would have—"

"Hey, Kurt, we were wondering if you'd like to—"

"AARGH!"

Kurt swung around and glared murderously at his very taken-aback-looking step-brother, boyfriend, and friends.

"I was this close, _THIS CLOSE_ to solving the problem, and now I'm going to have to start _all over again_. Do you know how _long_ this took me? ! I'm not _good_ at math!"

Puck and Sam stared at him, wide-eyed, hands up in front of them as if to ward off a blow or plead their innocence.

Finn and Blaine approached the near-hysterical boy.

"Kurt, bro, I'm sorry. We had no idea you were in the middle of something important."

"Well if you had _knocked_ like I'm always asking you to—"

Blaine squatted next to Kurt's chair, hand on the younger boy's shoulder, face close to his as he peered at Kurt's homework assignment. "I'm sure we can work it out again, Kurt. You have all the calculations right here. I'll help you, and I bet Sam can too, he's pretty good at math, for a public school boy."

Sam made a face at Blaine. "Thank you for the glowing compliment, prep-schooler."

Kurt looked around somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry. I've just been working on this problem form ages. It's driving me _crazy_."

"Maybe we can help," said Sam, pulling up the second chair. "It looks like you've got most of it figured out already."

Kurt, Blaine, and Sam bent over the math problem, with Finn and Puck looking on. Five minutes later it was solved. 

"Thanks," said Kurt. "You guys are lifesavers."

"No problem," said Sam. "I like math."

"And now I know how to do my own homework," said Blaine. "In fact, if I could just borrow this…"

"No," said Kurt, slapping his hand away.

"I wouldn't _just_ copy it," said Blaine in a wheedling voice, making puppy eyes at his boyfriend. "I'd make sure I understood it too."

"I don't care about that," said Kurt. "I don't want you to lose it!"

"You have that little faith in me?" Blaine pouted.

"No, I have plenty of faith in you, just not in your organizational abilities." He turned to his brother. "So, what were you coming in here for? _Without_ knocking, I might add."

"Sorry, bro," said Finn. "We were wondering if you'd like to take a break from all that homework."

"And do what?"

Finn shrugged. "I dunno. Hang. Whatever."

"You do remember I'm grounded, right?"

"Oh…yeah…"

Kurt shook his head. "I might take you up on your offer some other time; it's going to be a long two weeks, but right now I still have a lot of homework to do. Go 'hang' and do 'whatever', I promise I won't be jealous this time." He kissed them both, Finn on the cheek, Blaine on the mouth, and then shooed them from his room with a last "Nice to see you, Puck, Sam."

Puck looked pointedly and amusedly at Finn's cheek. "Please tell me Kurt's just affectionate like that."

"Kurt's just affectionate like that," said Finn and Blaine together.

A couple hours later was a knock on Kurt's door.

"Yes?"

"Can I come in or are you working on another insanely difficult math problem?"

"You can come in," said Kurt, laughing a bit. Blaine entered and closed the door behind him. "Actually I'm reading _Vogue_, but don't tell Finn."

Blaine chuckled. "Nothing wrong with reading _Vogue_." He went over and kissed the top of Kurt's head. "I'm about to go and I didn't think you'd appreciate it if I left without saying goodbye."

"You thought right," said Kurt, putting aside his magazine and capturing Blaine's lips briefly with his own. "I'll see you at school on Monday?"

"Of course. Behave yourself, baby," he added, winking.

Kurt rolled his eyes "I'll be a perfect angel, I promise. As long as you keep kissing me regularly."

"I'll be happy to oblige," said Blaine, connecting their lips for half a second more. "Later, Kurt."

"Bye, Blaine."

Blaine left Kurt's room, started down the stairs, turned the corner, and came face to face with Burt.

"Well, hello Blaine."

"Hello, Mr. Hummel," said Blaine, swallowing hard, but putting on an easy, smiling face.

"I have to say I'm surprised to see you here, seeing as Kurt is grounded."

"Finn invited me over to play video games with a couple of the McKinley boys," said Blaine.

"I see…"

Blaine resisted the urge to squirm beneath Burt's gaze' he'd had to lie under much more pressure than this in the past. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Hummel," said Blaine. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but I have to get home, my mom is expecting me." He walked past Kurt's father and out the door, making sure his posture remains casual and relaxed until the door was shut firmly behind him.

Burt, for his part, followed the curly-haired boy with his eyes until he disappeared out of the door, then he went to find his wife.

"Carole, why was Blaine Anderson in our house just now?"

Carole looked up mildly from the letter she was addressing. "Finn had a few friends over today."

"Including Kurt's boyfriend?"

"Yes, apparently. Is there a problem with that?"

"Yes," said Burt, as though it were obvious, "Kurt's grounded."

"But Finn's the one who had him over, not Kurt," said Carole. "He's Finn's friend as well as Kurt's boyfriend, and until he does something truly objectionable I feel it would be a little harsh to ban him from the house."

Burt sat down across from Carole. "You never had any brothers or sisters, did you?"

"No. Why?"

"I did. Let me tell you something about siblings." Burt settled himself in his chair. "They're devious, and they band together against common enemies, especially their parents. If Kurt's boyfriend was in this house it was because _Kurt_ wanted him here, at least partially."

Carole considered this. "So, are you going to punish them?"

"For what?" said Burt in frustration. "For having friends over to the house? I told you, they're devious." He scowled. "But I'll keep an eye on that Blaine kid. I don't trust that boy."

"You seems to like him fine earlier in the year," said Carole, rising from her chair."

"That was before he started dating my son."

Carole rolled her eyes. "Oh, you. Go tell that son of yours to come help me with dinner. And ask Puck and Sam whether they'll be staying to eat it."

**AN: I definitely took things from my own life for this chapter. The picture of Carole at the beginning with the phone & the receipts is my mom balancing her checkbook & paying bills. And Kurt exploding at people for interrupting his complex math problem is me. Luckily I never have to take math again!**

**Now I'm done writing the chapter, all you have to do is review it ;)**

**-SQ**


	15. Chapter 15: Ungrounded

**Author's Note: And slowly but surely I make progress on this story. I work when I can, I promise, but college is busy.**

**Disclaimer: Because people totally read these…**

**Chapter Fifteen: Ungrounded**

Being grounded majorly sucked, but it was made bearable by his boyfriend at school and his stepbrother at home.

Well, for the most part.

"Kurt? Are you busy?"

Kurt looked up to see said stepbrother's head sticking through his doorway. "And yet again you have failed to show the common courtesy of knocking."

"Um, sorry…" said Finn. He rapped his knuckles against the doorframe. "So, are you busy?"

"Yes," said Kurt, "but you may come in anyway."

"Cool, thanks," said Finn. He came inside and plonked himself down on Kurt's bed. "Wow, dude, your sheets are really soft."

"Well you don't expect me to sleep on scratchy sheets, do you?" said Kurt. He turned his chair to face his stepbrother , crossing his legs and wrists. "Is there something in particular you wanted from me, or are you just here to keep me from doing my work?"

"Oh, no, I was wondering if you could help me with my English homework. You do kind of owe me."

Kurt rolled his eyes and held out his hand. Finn had a point. "Give it here." He scanned the worksheet. "Seems fairly straightforward. What do you need help with?"

"I don't know what any of these words mean."

"That would be a problem, wouldn't it?" said Kurt, quirking an eyebrow. "Considering it's a vocabulary worksheet. You don't know what _any_ of the words mean?"

"Well, I know what a _few_ of them mean," said Finn.

"That's a start," said Kurt. "Now, go get the dictionary."

"What?"

"It's a simple instruction, Finn."

"But don't you know what the words mean either?"

"I'm not going to do your work for you, Finn. Now. Go. Get. The. Dictionary."

*****BB*****

The Warblers had lost at Regionals, but that didn't mean that they had stepped down on their rehearsals.

"I love Wes," said Blaine, leaning against the wall of the school with Kurt after rehearsal. "But If I hear him bang that gavel one more time—"

"I know what you mean," said Kurt. "The next time someone tells me that show choir isn't a workout…"

"There is _one _good thing about all these insane rehearsals," said Blaine, sliding closer to Kurt along the wall.

"Mmm?" said Kurt, shivering slightly as Blaine's cheek brushed against his neck.

"It's more time I get to spend with you."

Blaine captured Kurt's lips in a kiss and Kurt melted into the older boy's supple mouth, one hand coming up to tangle in Blaine's gelled curls.

"This would be better without that stuff in your hair," Kurt mumbled.

"Are you complaining?" said Blaine, shifting both their bodies so that he could press his boyfriend against the wall.

"Mmm-mmn." Kurt's fingers splayed across Blaine's chest, playing with his uniform tie. "I still can't believe you're my boyfriend."

"What do I have to do to convince you?" asked Blaine, running his palms down Kurt's sides to the bones of his hips and using them to draw the slighter boy closer to him.

"You're doing just fine right now," whispered Kurt, blushing profusely.

Blaine chuckled. "You're so precious."

Kurt's blush heightened. "I bet Finn and his big mouth told you how hung up on you I was from the first time I met you, right?"

Blaine smiled. "Indeed he did. He said you had a picture of me insides your locker?"

"_Fi-inn,"_ groaned Kurt, burying his face in Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine laughed and rubbed Kurt's back. "I find it endearing."

"I find it embarrassing."

"You find me embarrassing?"

Kurt's head shot up. "What? No! Never! I—"

"Kurt, Kurt," Blaine laid his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders. "I'm kidding. Relax. I'm _kidding_."

"Oh…right."

Blaine shook his head, a few curls that had been loosened by Kurt's fingers bouncing up and down. "Silly." He kissed Kurt's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Kurt left the side of the building and went to his car, waving at Blaine as he started the engine and drove out of the parking lot.

_I have the best boyfriend in the world._

*****BB*****

When Kurt got his phone back from his father at the end of the two weeks he had eleven new voicemail messages. One was from the phone company telling him his bill was ready to be looked at online. One was from the pharmacy telling him that his acne medication had been shipped. One was from Finn, who had obviously forgotten that Kurt had had his phone taken away. One was from David reminding him about Warblers rehearsal (as if he could ever forget). Two were from Mercedes. And five were from Rachel.

"_Hi, Kurt! It's Rachel! All of us from New Direction really want to see you; it's been way too long! We want to hear everything about everything that's happened since we saw you last!"_

"_HI, Kurt, it's Rachel again! You didn't return my call. Did you get my message? We reeeaaally want to see you! Sooner rather than later! Don't let Blaine take up all of your time!"_

"_Kuuuuuuuurt! Why aren't you answering your phone? Have you forgotten about us? Have you been kidnapped? Call me!"_

"_Come __**on**__, Kurt! No one goes this long without checking their phone! Are we gonna have to come down there and stage an intervention? Because you know Mercedes and I would be so ready to do so! Even if we have to rip you bodily away from Blaine."_

"_Well you could have told __**me**__ that you were grounded, mister! What did you __**do**__ to get yourself grounded anyway? Mercedes wasn't very specific. In fact, she got quite snippy. Anyway, I guess this explains why you haven't been answering my calls. So when you __**do**__ get this message, __**call me back**__! We want to seeee yoooouuu! Hugs and kisses! Rachel."_

Kurt rolled his eyes as the phone beeped the end of his messages. "Really, Rachel? Really?" He exited out of his voicemail and went to his phonebook, scrolling through to Mercedes's number.

_*Ring-ra-ring. Ring ra-ri—* "Hey, Boo! What up?"_

"Hi, Mercedes," said Kurt. "How are you?"

"_I'm good? How are you? Have you been ungrounded yet?"_

"I have my phone, don't I?"

"_Good point. How's Blaine?"_

Kurt smiled. "He's good. Busy as usual of course."

"_Of course,"_ said Mercedes. _"I miss that boy. And I miss __**you**__! We all do."_

"I know," said Kurt, laughing. "Rachel left me _five_ messages."

"_That girl,"_ said Mercedes. _"I swear… When __**are **__we going to see you though, really?"_

"I don't know," said Kurt helplessly. "Wait!" he said suddenly. "Yes I do! This Friday we only have a half day, professional development or some such thing. Blaine and I can get over to McKinnley by the time school ends for you guys."

"_Whoot! Sounds like a __**plan**__. So what have you been up to?"_

"You mean besides being grounded?"

"_Yeah, besides that."_

"Not much. You?"

"_Same. What exactly were you grounded for, anyway?"_

Kurt sighed. "Being stupid."

"_You've got to be more specific than that, white boy. __**Don't **__tell me you actually snuck out of the house like Finn said."_

"Okay, okay," said Kurt. "Yes, I did, alright? I snuck out on a date with Blaine when my dad and Carole had told me I couldn't go."

Mercedes sucked in her breath. _"Oooh, boy, that was not your smartest move."_

"I know."

"_Is everything okay with you and Blaine?"_

"Yeah," said Kurt. "He was pretty pissed at me because I had told him they'd said yes when they'd said no, but we're okay now."

"_And you and Burt and Carole?"_

"Yeah, everything's fine now."

"_And with Finn too?"_

Kurt laughed. "Nothing was ever wrong there."

Mercedes groaned.

"What?"

"_My mom's calling me downstairs to set the table for dinner."_

Kurt laughed. "Go set the table. I'll see you Friday, okay Mercedes?"

"_I can't wait."_

"Me neither. But right now I should call Rachel before she, like, explodes or something."

Mercedes snorted. _"You go do that. I'll see you on Friday, 'kay? Love ya!"_

"Love you too, Mercedes. Bye."

Kurt hung up the phone and selected Rachel's number from his contacts.

"_Hello? Rachel Berry's cell phone. Rachel Berry speaking."_

"HI, Rachel, it's Kurt—"

"_Kuuuuuuuuurt!"_

Kurt yanked the phone away from his ear, wincing. "Rachel, please, my ears."

"_Sorry, Kurt, I'm just excited to talk to you!"_

"Obviously," said Kurt dryly. "You practically overloaded my inbox."

"_Well, it worked, didn't it?" _said Rachel. _"You called me back."_

"One message would have sufficed, Rachel."

"_Well you didn't answer the first one!"_

"I was grounded."

"_I know that __**now**__. No one ever tells me anything!"_

"Well if you weren't such a blabber-mouth—"

"_I'm not the one who got myself grounded for sneaking out with my boyfriend—"_

"You don't _have_ a boyfriend. And how did you find that out?"

"_I made Finn tell me."_

"Rachel," said Kurt. "_Must_ we fight _every_ time we talk?"

"_We just both have very strong, often clashing personalities."_

"Here here," said Finn from the doorway.

"_Finn!"_ exclaimed Kurt and Rachel together.

"What? You have her on speaker-phone."

"That does not give you permission to eavesdrop on our conversation!" said Kurt hotly.

"Sorry!" said Finn, holding up his hands and backing quickly away down the hall.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "_Anyway_, I should go now, but I'm planning on going down to McKinley on Friday, since Dalton gets out early. So I'll see you then, okay?"

"_Okay,"_ said Rachel. _"Will Blaine be coming?"_

"Probably," said Kurt warily. "But, just to reestablish the fact, he is one hundred percent gay. And one hundred percent mine."

"_I know that,"_ said Rachel. _"We can still be __**friends**__. You're gay and I'm friends with you, aren't I?"_

"Sometimes," muttered Kurt. Then, "_Goodbye_, Rachel. I'll see you on Friday."

"_Bye, Kurt! It was nice talking to you, even if you did get a little defensi—"_ ***call ended***

**AN: Oh Rachel…**

**Also, by the time I post another chapter GLEE WILL BE BACK ON! :D**

**I can't read your mind, but I do read all your reviews**

**Thanks for reading**

**-SQ**


	16. Chapter 16: Good News and Bad News

**Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! Business, business :P**

**Recent continuity issues aside, this fic is operating under the assumption (a perfectly logical assumption in accordance with all the evidence from Season 2) that Blaine is in the **_**same grade**_** as Kurt and is a few months **_**older**_** than him.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: If you think that I own **_**Glee**_**, I feel very sorry for you**

**Chapter Sixteen: Good News and Bad News**

"Attention, Warblers, your attention, please!"

Kurt looked up from where he had been talking to Blaine and Nick about their upcoming chem test.

Wes banged his gavel once more for good measure. "Alright, Warblers, we have some exciting news for all of you." The boys looked at the three councilmembers expectantly.

"Wes, stop drawing it out," said Thad. "We have been invited to sing as part of the opening to the mayor's address next month."

The whole room erupted into exclamations and cheers, excited questions being shot over the hubbub toward the Council at the front.

"Alright, alright," said David. "Settle down and we'll tell you more about it—"

"Quiet!" said Wes, rapping his gavel sharply against the podium. "That's better. Thad?"

"Thank you, Wes. Now, I know this is a little bit of short notice—the address is in just over two weeks—but it is an amazing opportunity for us. We'll need new repertoire for this, so we're upping the rehearsal schedule to three hours a day, five days a week until the performance."

"Friday," David reminded him.

""Oh, yes," said Thad. "Thank you, David. That includes tis Friday, so stick around after lunch guys, because it's not an early dismissal for you."

"I can't believe we're going to help open for the mayor's address," said Jeff as the Warblers filed out of the room.

"I know!" said Nick. "I thought after losing at regionals our exciting season was pretty much done for the year."

"Aren't you excited, Kurt?" asked Jeff.

"Oh, yes, definitely," said Kurt. "I'm just annoyed that we have rehearsal on Friday now. I promised my friends I'd go down to McKinley that day."

Nick made a sympathetic face.

"Never trust Wes, David, and Thad to keep your free time intact," said Blaine.

Kurt sighed.

"Kurt?"

Kurt looked over at his boyfriend's concerned face.

"I'm okay," he said. "And I am really excited for the performance. I just miss my friends. I love you guys, I do, but I get to see you almost every day. I hardly get to see my McKinley friends."

Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt and kissed his temple. "You're making me sad."

Kurt smiled, but it lacked his usual sparkle. "Don't be sad on my account. We're going to sing at the mayor's address!"

The Warblers broke once more into excited chatter, but though Kurt partook in the discussion, he seemed somehow sad and distant. Blaine frowned and tightened his arm around his boyfriend. _I know they're his friends, but so are we. Why can't he be happy here?_

*****BB*****

Kurt dropped his bag on the floor by the bed and turned on his laptop. Immediately his IM screen dinged.

_Hey Kurt! :)_

**Hey, Mercedes**

_How're you?_

**Okay**

_Just okay?_

**Yeah**

_Details?_

**Good news and bad news**

_What's the good news?_

**The Warblers are going to sing at the mayor's address in a couple weeks, we just found out today, so that's really cool :)**

_That _is_ cool! Way to go!_

Kurt smiled. It _was_ exciting.

**Yeah, it is, isn't it? We're all really excited.**

_I'll bet! So what's the bad news?_

**Well, because of the short notice the Council's amped up our rehearsal schedule. We've got a rehearsal this Friday afternoon now, so Blaine and I can't make it to McKinley that day.**

_Awww :'(_

**I know…**

_It's okay, boo, singing at the mayor's address is going to be way more awesome than visiting us!_

**I know, it's going to be great :) But I miss you guys like crazy! :(**

_We miss you too, Kurt. We'll see you soon, I promise. *hug*_

**:) *hug* Thanks, Mercedes. I've got to go do my hw now . Ttyl**

_Ttyl '' 3_

Kurt switched off his IM and stared at the screen. He loved the Warblers, they were great, but they weren't New Directions; they were his friends, but they weren't his family.

Kurt sighed and pulled out his homework. No good letting his bad mood affect his grades; that certainly wouldn't help anything.

*****BB*****

It was Friday evening, the day Kurt was supposed to have gone to McKinley to see his friends. Rehearsals for the mayor's address were going well; they had gotten some really cool music. But it was stressful. Kurt had been in a bad mood all week, and a few good songs were not enough to pull him out of it, especially when he didn't have any solos. It hadn't helped, either, when Finn had come home talking about how fun glee club had been that day.

"Kurt, you're sulking."

Kurt lifted his eyes to his doorway. "You didn't knock."

"Kurt, what's wrong? You're sulking."

"I _heard_ you the _first_ time."

"But Blaine noticed it too, we—"

"I _heard_ you, Finn. I'm not deaf."

"You don't need to be so snappy, Kurt. We—"

—need to butt out of my life," said Kurt. "You can't fix everything Finn. In fact, you have a habit of _causing_ problems."

Finn looked wounded. "Did I cause this one?"

"No," said Kurt with exaggerated patience, "but you're causing one now."

"I'm trying to help you."

"And I suppose you were trying to _help_ me when you called me a fag in my basement."

"_What?"_ Blaine had appeared in the doorway behind Finn. "_What_ did you say?"

Kurt's and Finn's gazes locked and one thought passed between them as clearly as if they had spoken it: _Oh shit._

"Blaine, wait, he didn't actually—"

"Did you call Kurt a fag?" Blaine demanded, his eyes blazing.

"Well, I—"

"_Did you?"_

"Um…" stuttered Finn, clearly intimidated by the look in the shorter boy's eyes. "I…kind of…I called the lamp…and the rug…"

"Blaine," said Kurt, "Blaine, please, you don't know the whole story. It was last year. And I was acting—"

"No matter _how_ you were acting it does _not_ give him the right to use that word!"

"No, but—"

"What else have you done to him, huh?" said Blaine aggressively. "Were you one of the jackasses who used to throw slushies in his face in the halls and toss him in the dumpster before school?"

Silence. Blaine had hit the nail on the head. But he didn't understand…

And then then Finn had to go and open his big mouth. "Really I held his stuff while the rest of the guys threw him in…"

"I can't believe you," said Blaine, his face and voice twisting in rage, "I can't _believe_ you!" Blaine shoved Finn into the wall.

Fin held up his hands. "Whoa, dude, chill…"

Blaine shoved him again, harder.

This time Finn shoved him back. "Hey, dude, knock it off! You didn't even know Kurt then."

"I know what he went through."

"So do I," said Finn. "I was there."

"Yeah you were there, you put him through it!" said Blaine.

"Guys, please, stop. You're supposed to be friends."

"You think me and Kurt haven't been over this?" said Finn. "You think I don't feel bad about it? I do! But there's nothing I can do to change it!"

Finn pushed Blaine again. The smaller boy stumbled back and then came at the quarterback. Kurt leapt off the bed and put himself between them. The blow intended for Finn was intercepted by Kurt's shoulder.

"Oh—oh—oh my God," said Blaine, looking between his fist and the countertenor in horror. "No—no, I—I didn't—" He whirled around and ran from the room.

"Blaine!" shouted Kurt, running after him. "Blaine!"

The front door slammed. An engine started outside. Tires squealed on pavement and then sped away. Finn was still standing at the top of the staircase, anger draining into confusion as he looked between Kurt and the door.

"Fuck," said Kurt, one hand clenched in his hair, the other holding his smarting shoulder. He rounded on his stepbrother. "Way to go, Finn!" He swept back up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door so hard that the whole wall rattled.

Finn stared at the quivering doorframe. "What did _I_ do?"

**AN: Drama! We knew that story was going to have to get out eventually. That was probably not the **_**best**_** way for it to have happened though, huh? Thoughts? :D**

**-SQ**


	17. Chapter 17: Triangle

**Author****'****s ****Note: ****I ****don****'****t ****have ****much ****to ****say ****(probably**** '****cause ****there ****are ****people ****in ****my ****room ****right ****now) ****other ****than ****I ****like ****this ****chapter, ****and ****I ****hope ****you ****do ****too ****:)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Glee this would be official, if this were official, it would not be coming out right now because Glee is on hiatus .**

**Chapter Seventeen: Triangle**

"And then he just ran out?"

Kurt nodded, wincing as Mercedes shifted the pressure of the icepack on his shoulder. "You'd think I wouldn't bruise so easily with the number of times I've been throw in the dumpster and shoved into lockers."

"I can't believe Blaine and Finn nearly got into a fistfight."

Kurt shook his head helplessly. "Don't ask me. I don't know what got into them!"

"That was an incredibly inopportune time for Blaine to walk in," said Mercedes.

"Tell me about it," said Kurt.

"But he didn't mean to hit you?" Mercedes asked.

"No, of course not," said Kurt. "What I don't understand it why he just ran out! And now neither of them will talk to me, and I'm not sure I want to talk to them either!"

"Then don't," advised Mercedes. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's those two knuckleheads who blew the whole thing out of proportion."

"Well, I did bring it up."

Mercedes waved her hand impatiently. "Irrelevant. They treated you like trash, Kurt, didn't let you get a word in edgewise. Don't take them from them. Make _them_ come to _you_."

"You're right," said Kurt. "I don't have to take that from them. If they won't listen to me it's _their_ problem, not mine."

Mercedes hugged Kurt around the shoulders from behind. "That's my boo."

Kurt smiled. "Do you mind if I stay here tonight? I do _not_want to go back to that house with an angry, mule-headed Finn."

Mercedes laughed. "I don't blame you one bit. Of course you can stay. I assumed you would when you called me, and don't tell me you didn't too, I saw your pajamas and toiletries in your bag."

Kurt giggled. "Guilty as charged. God, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too!" said Mercedes. "We totally understand why you left, but New Directions just isn't the same without you."

"Oh, please, let's not talk about serious things," said Kurt. "I just want to have pure, unadulterated, completely unproductive fun tonight."

"I think we can manage that," said Mercedes with a smile. "But you know what would be even better than the two of us having pure, unadulterated, unproductive fun?

"What?" asked Kurt.

"The two of us having pure, unadulterated, unproductive fun with Rachel and Tina. And Brittany, Santana, and Quinn if they'll come."

"Slumber party!" said Kurt excitedly.

"Glad to see we're on the same page here."

*****BB*****

Blaine sat on his bed, staring at his darkening window without seeing it. He had hit Kurt. He had _hit_ Kurt. He had hit _Kurt_. He had sworn up and down that he would never hurt the boy, had strived to prove to the countertenor's family and friends that he was a good, trustworthy boyfriend, and now he had done exactly what they had all been afraid he would do. His temper, his stupid, _fucking_ temper, had gotten out of hand and he had gotten physically violent with his boyfriend.

Blaine didn't know how he had managed to make it home without getting into an accident; he barely even remembered making the drive.

He wrapped his arms around his legs, unconsciously digging his fingernails into the exposed flesh of his forearms. Kurt… Kurt was so beautiful and innocent. To think that the boy who called himself Kurt's brother had done and said such things to him made his blood boil. Blaine loved Kurt, he would never hurt him—and yet he had. He was worse than Finn. He dug his nails deeper into his arms, intentionally this time, easing the pressure only when he felt blood on his fingertips. He pulled his hands away and looked at them numbly. It had been a while, but the sight was not wholly unfamiliar.

_This __time __it__'__s __different, __though,_ he thought. _This __time __it__'__s_ me_._ _This __time __I __deserve __it._

Blaine rubbed his thumb against the inside of his wrist. He wouldn't become like that. He _wouldn__'__t_. Better this, better _anything_, than to become like him.

Blaine glanced over at his phone. Three missed calls. All from Kurt.

_It __isn__'__t __new __for __me; __it __would __be __new __for __him._ He picked up the phone, fingered it, and then laid it back down on his bedside table. _I __can__'__t __let __that __happen._

*****BB*****

Finn couldn't sit still and he couldn't concentrate. Not on his homework, not on his video games, not on facebook or TV or even the book he had picked up in his desperation to put his mind on anything except what had just happened in Kurt's bedroom. Not that he was exactly sure what _had_ happened, he thought as he paced up and down the room; that was part of the problem. He and Blaine had gone to see if they could cheer Kurt up a bit, but his stepbrother had refused to be cheered up and instead had attacked Finn. And then Blaine had _actually_ attacked Finn, and then all of a sudden he and Blaine were fighting and Kurt was shouting and then Blaine was running out of the house and Kurt _still_shouting and blaming it all on him! It wasn't fair!

Finn groaned. Maybe he should talk to his mom about it. He wished he could talk to Rachel, but that wouldn't go over well with Quinn, and he didn't need anyone else mad at him. He kicked his computer chair. It made a satisfying _clunk_ against the desk. He kicked it again. This time the desk wobbled and his computer nearly fell off, so he turned around and glowered at his bed.

"I'm not the one who brought it up," he said. "_Kurt_ brought it up. Why did he bring it up? How many times do I have to say I'm sorry! ? And it's none of Blaine's damn business anyway. Like he has a fucking _clue_ what it's like at McKinley. Little stuck-up private school rich boy." Then Finn felt kind of bad, because that wasn't really how he thought of Blaine, but he was entitled to be mad, goddammit!

His eyes fell on his phone and he grabbed in and flipped it open just to have something to do. There was a text message from Kurt.

_Finn?_

Finn opened his door and stuck his head out into the hall. "Kurt? Kurt?"

"He left, Finn!" came his mother's voice from downstairs. Her face appeared on the landing. "Went over to Mercedes's house. He seemed rather upset. Did something happen?"

"I don't even know!" said Finn, throwing up his arms. "Everything was perfectly normal and then…"

"Why don't you tell me about it?"

*****BB*****

"Thanks for coming over at such short notice, girls," said Kurt, flopping backwards onto Mercedes's bed. "This is just what I needed."

"It's not exactly torture for us either," Santana pointed out, leaning backward to give Brittany a better angle from which to brush her hair.

"Yeah, I love slumber parties," said Tina.

"So does Lord Tubbington," said Brittany. "He's going to be very angry with me for coming without him.

"I'm hungry," announced Rachel. "Dinner was hours ago."

"There's food downstairs," said Mercedes. "But we have to be quiet so we don't wake my parents."

The seven teenagers tiptoed down the stairs. Brittany tripped over the steps in the dark and giggled.

"Shhh!" hissed Rachel.

"Shhh!" Quinn hissed back at her.

"_Guys,__"_ whispered Mercedes.

"What do we want to eat?" asked Mercedes when they got to the kitchen.

"Do you have any ice cream?" asked Kurt. "I'm feeling like binging big time."

"Do I have ice cream?" asked Mercedes incredulously. "Are you crazy, boy? She opened the freezer. "Take your pick." The group descended on the contents. "Quietly!"

*****BB*****

Kurt and Finn didn't talk to each other for the remainder of the weekend. For once, Carole kept out of it, knowing that any interference on her part would only serve to exacerbate the tension between the two.

"I don't know how long I can stand the gloom in this house," complained Burt. "I'm about to beat those boys' heads together, maybe knock some sense into them."

"Give them time to sort it out on their own," said Carole, placing their coffees on the table and sliding into the seat across from him.

"What's going on with them anyway?" asked Burt, blowing on his steaming mug.

"Nothing they can't handle," said Carole.

"But you know what it is."

"Finn told me about it, yes."

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"Because it's not your issue," said Carole firmly. "If it gets out of hand I'll tell you."

"How will you know if it gets out of hand?"

"Because your son will start acting as though the world is about to end," said Carole.

Burt laughed reluctantly. "He is quite the king of drama, isn't he?"

"He is," agreed Carole. "Never a dull moment."

"You can say that again."

Carole stood and put her coffee cup in the sink. "I have to go to the store. Stay out of the boys' hair, okay?"

"Okay, okay," said Burt. "You hypocrite," he added once she was in the hall.

"I heard that."

**AN: ****Okay, ****I ****need ****to ****explain ****the ****title ****of ****the ****chapter, ****because ****I****'****m ****sure ****it ****makes ****no ****sense ****to ****you ****guys. ****I ****am ****a ****very ****visual ****person, ****I ****think ****in ****pictures, ****and ****when ****I ****was ****envisioning ****this ****chapter ****I ****had ****a ****very ****clear ****image ****in ****my ****head. ****The ****three ****first ****scenes, ****the ****ones ****for ****each ****of ****the ****boys, ****happen ****simultaneously. ****In ****my ****mind ****each ****of ****the ****three ****boys ****was, ****like, ****in ****their ****own ****bubble, all visible at once, ****set ****up ****in ****a ****triangle ****pattern, ****hence ****the ****title. ****Kurt ****on ****the ****left, ****Blaine at ****the ****top, ****Finn ****on ****the ****right. ****I ****know ****that ****sounds ****really ****weird ****and ****probably ****doesn****'****t ****make ****any ****sense, ****but ****that****'****s ****my ****very ****strong ****mental ****image ****for ****this ****chapter.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you review too! ;)**

**-SQ**


	18. Chapter 18: My, Your, Their Business

**Author's Note: This chapter still kind of has the "triangle" thing going on; they're all three operating in separate spheres & there's a section for each POV. I hope you enjoy the chapter. I'm posting it tonight right before I go to bed because I had already typed it but not proof-read it or added ANs & I have a TON of work to do tomorrow & I know I wouldn't get those done then. So here it is :)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I claim the rights to 0.00% of Glee**

**Chapter Eighteen: My Business, Your Business, Their Business**

Kurt and Finn were still not speaking when they left for school on Monday morning, and when he arrived at Dalton Kurt discovered that apparently he and Blaine weren't speaking either. Well, if Blaine wanted to be like that it was just fine with him. Kurt glanced over at the curly-haired Warbler in the seat next to him. Oh who was he kidding? Fighting with Blaine would never be fine with him, but hell if Kurt was going to back down when the whole thing was _Blaine__and__Finn__'__s__fault_.

It was rather lonely, though, being at Dalton without Blaine. Not that he didn't have other friends there, he did, but his only really close friends were Wes and David, who were, as well as being seniors, also and firstly Blaine's best friends. So that was a little awkward.

During Warblers rehearsal the three Council members kept shooting glances at the estranged couple, and after rehearsal, as the others members were packing up their things to leave, Thad, Wes, and David came up to the countertenor.

"Kurt," said Wes, "is something going on with you and Blaine?"

"Yes," said Kurt shortly, since it was obvious there was.

"What is it?" asked David.

"Why don't you ask him?"

"We're asking you," said Wes.

"And I'm telling you to ask him."

"Whatever it is, it's messing up your dynamic in rehearsal," said Thad.

"Well, I'm sorry my personal problems don't coincide with your plans," snapped Kurt. All three Council members' eyebrows shot up. "Sorry. But it's not my fault, okay? Talk to Blaine in you want, maybe _you_ can get him to stop flipping out over stupid things."

Wes, David, and Thad exchanged looks.

"Hey, Blaine, wait up!"

*****BB*****

Finn walked up to his locker, still half asleep. He turned the lock, pushed open the door, slid his backpack off his back, grabbed his books out of it, hung it on the hook, closed the door, and came face-to-face with Rachel Berry.

"Um, hi."

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

"What?"

"I said you ought to be ashamed of—"

"No, no, I didn't mean 'what' like 'what did you say?", I meant 'what' like 'why did you said it?'"

"Kurt!" Rachel exclaimed impatiently.

"What about Kurt?"

"Wake _up_, Finn!" said Rachel. "You treated him completely unfairly last night!"

"_I_treated _him_ unfairly?"

"Yes you did," said Rachel, jabbing her finger into his chest. "You are an insensitive, unfeeling, un—"

"Hey, protested Finn, backing away. "You don't know what you're talking about. "I'm going to class."

*****BB*****

When he stepped into the choir room later that day Finn was once again accosted, not just by Rachel, but by nearly all the girls in glee club.

"Where do you think you're coming from? Treating Kurt like that?"

"You think you're hot stuff, don't you, Frankenteen?"

"Oh _hell_ to the no, boy!"

"Whoa, what's going on here?" said Sam, looking back and forth between Finn and the girls.

"They're sticking their noses into mine and Kurt's business," said Finn angrily.

"That's not cool, man," said Puck. "Lay off Finn."

"He should lay of Kurt!"

"I should? _I_ should? I didn't do _anything_ to him! You have it all backwards!"

"Why are you all ganging up on Finn?" said Artie, rolling over to them with Mike at his side.

"Stay out of this," snapped Quinn. "You don't know what's going on."

"Neither do you!" said Finn.

"Yes we do," said Brittany. "You were being mean. Kurt told us."

"_Kurt_ told you," said Puck. "And Kurt _never_ exaggerates _anything_. If you had heard Finn's story first whose side would you be on then?"

"Hey, leave Brit alone," said Santana.

"This isn't any of your business," said Finn. "Any of you," he added as both Puck and Mercedes opened their mouths.

"It _is_ our business," said Mercedes. "Kurt made it our business when he came to us."

"Well, she shouldn't have!" said Finn.

"He wouldn't have had to if you hadn't—"

"_Blaine__'__s_ the one who—"

"You can't blame everything on someone else—"

"It looks like you're the one blaming it all on Finn—"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Mr. Shuester forced himself between the two warring sides. "What's going on here?"

"Everyone is sticking their noses into my business—"

"Finn is being a _jerk_ to Kurt—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Mr. Shue. "Stop. Why are you guys fighting about Kurt? Kurt isn't even here. Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's okay," said Rachel. "But he wasn't Friday night after Finn—"

"But he's okay now?" said Mr. Shue, cutting her off.

"Well, yes—"

"And Finn, you're okay?"

"I _was_ before all of them started attacking me! Why is everyone attacking me? !"

The room erupted once more into arguments.

"_Quiet!__"_ The room fell silent. "That's better. I don't care what happened between Finn and Kurt in the privacy of their own house last night as long as both of them are alright. And neither should you, at least not during glee club rehearsal. Now, let's begin."

*****BB*****

Blaine entered his room and dropped his schoolbag onto his bed. Warbler rehearsal had been torture. Kurt hadn't talked to him, wouldn't even look at him. He tried to tell himself that it would have been worse if the boy had tried to talk to him, and he knew Kurt had every reason not to look at him, but it still hurt.

It had taken Blaine almost twenty minutes to escape Wes and David after rehearsal. The two had caught up with him just outside of the choir room and started grilling him about what was going on with him and Kurt. Promising that he wouldn't let it get in the way of the group dynamic again might have appeased Thad had he been there, but it hadn't cut it with his two best friends.

He knew his friends meant well, but this wasn't something he could talk to them about. He had never told them everything that had happened leading up to his transfer to Dalton, and he meant it to stay that way. He couldn't let his past be a part of his present. He had thought he could be with Kurt and still maintain that barrier. He looked down at the new crescent scabs on his forearms, side-by-side with the old linear scars. Apparently not.

Blaine pulled out his math book and sat down at his desk. His arm bumped against his computer mouse and the screen flickered to life. His wallpaper stared back at him; the picture had been taken right after they had gotten together, at one of the last Warblers rehearsals before regionals. Kurt and Blaine had performed "Candles" for the group and some fool with a camera had taken the picture and posted it on facebook. Both of them were wearing their Dalton blazers and lovestruck expressions which bordered on ridiculous. Blaine was singing and Kurt was looking at Blaine with his eyes full of joy and trust. They both looked as though they had never been happier in their lives. In fact the council had had to remind them that the song they were singing wasn't exactly about puppies and rainbows and happily-ever-afters.

Blaine bit back a sob, but it was followed by another and another until he could no longer control them. There was no fear of either of his parents coming to see what was wrong—even if they heard they would pretend that they didn't—but it made Blaine feel weak and stupid and vulnerable anyway. He used to come home every day and cry, but that had stopped when everything else in that chapter of his life had stopped. He rubbed the scars on the insides of his wrists. Never again, nothing would ever bring him that low again. And nothing would turn him into _him_ either. That would be even worse. If he went down it made him weak; if he brought someone else down with him it made him cruel.

"I'm sorry, Kurt," he whispered. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry for what Finn did to you. I'm sorry for what everyone else did to you. I'm sorry I can't protect you anymore. But I have to at least protect you from myself." He touched Kurt's face on the screen. "Courage," he whispered, not entirely sure whether he was speaking to Kurt or himself, "courage."

**AN: Yes, Blaine has some secrets buried in his past. No, you can't know the specifics of what they are yet. Be patient ;P**

**I noticed something interesting. While my Artemis Fowl fic has about the same number of readers, it has 3 ½ times as many reviews per chapter as this one. In fact, the percentage of readers who review for my Artemis Fowl fic is much greater than the percentage of readers who review for any of my _Glee_ or HP fics. I wonder why this is. Something about the fandom, obviously; the Artemis Fowl fandom seems much more inclined to review than the _Glee_& HP ones. It is quite interesting.**

**-SQ**


	19. Chapter 19: Right Here

**Author's Note: New chapter, hooray! ;D And there is a _song_ in this chapter *gasp*. There are pretty much three ways I put songs in my fic: I think 'I need a song here' & search for one to fit; I hear a song & think 'hey, I like this song & can hear such-and-such a characters singing it, I wonder if I can work it into a fic; or a hear a song & think 'this song _needs_ to be sung by this particular character at this particular part of this particular fic. This was definitely 1 of the 3rd kind.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I own anything _Glee_ about as much as you do. Unless of course you are someone involved with _Glee_, in which case I a) am incredibly honored that you are reading this and b) still don't own anything _Glee._**

**I also don't own the song.**

**Chapter Nineteen: Right Here**

Monday had not been fun, but on Monday Kurt had still been angry. On Tuesday he found that all of the anger had seeped out of him and he just felt lonely. Lonely, sad, and guilty. Finn had, now that Kurt had cooled down enough to think about it, kind of had a point when he had asked what he had done. Kurt had brought up the incident in the basement. Blaine had overreacted without waiting to hear the details. Finn had merely tried to cheer Kurt up. Kurt hadn't _wanted_to be cheered up, but that didn't make what he had said any more appropriate, nor did the fact that he most certainly would not have said it if he had known Blaine was there to hear it.

"Damn," said Kurt. It went completely against his considerable amount of pride, but he didn't see any way around it. The girls had told him to make Finn and Blaine come to him, but they were girls, and Finn and Blaine were guys. And so, as much as he prided himself on being an "honorary girl", was Kurt. Sometimes he felt like his female friends forgot that. A lot of people seemed to forget that, but not Finn and Blaine. They treated him like a guy, they had 'guy time'. He missed that. He missed them. And he could really do without feeling this awkward in his own house.

Kurt sighed and shrugged his bag off his shoulder onto his bedroom floor. "I hate it when I'm wrong."

*****BB*****

Tuesday hadn't gone especially great for Finn either. The girls of New Directions were still on his case about Kurt, Kurt was still angry at him about Friday, and he still didn't know what he had done wrong!

Finn sat down on his bed, dragged his laptop over, plugged it into his speakers, and clicked on his Pandora. Perhaps glee club had influenced his mind to the point where he related songs to everything and everything to song, but the one that started playing seemed to fit perfectly with what was going through his mind at that moment. He cranked up the volume and, when the intro ended and the lyrics began, sang along.

"_I know I've been mistaken_

_But just give me a break and see the changes that I've made_

_I've got some imperfections_

_But how can you collect them all and throw them in my face?_

_But you always find a way to keep me right here waiting_

_You always find the words to say to keep me right here waiting_

_And if you chose to walk away I'd still be right here waiting_

_Searching for the things to say to keep you right here waiting_

_I hope you're not intending_

_To be so condescending, it's as much as I can take_

_And you're so independent_

_You refuse to bend so I keep bending till I break_

_But you always find a way to keep me right here waiting_

_You always find the words to say to keep me right here waiting_

_And if you chose to walk away I'd still be right here waiting_

_Searching for the things to say to keep you right here waiting_

_I've made a commitment_

_I'm willing to bleed for you_

_I needed fulfillment_

_I found what I need in you_

_Why can't you just forgive me?_

_I don't want to relive all the mistakes I've make along the way_

_But I always find a way to keep you right here waiting_

_I always find the words to say to keep you right here waiting_

_But you always find a way _

_To keep me right here waiting_

_You always find the words to say to keep me right here waiting_

_And if I chose to talk away would you be right here waiting?_

_Searching for the things to say to keep me right here waiting"_

"Ugh," sighed Finn, kicking at his desk chair half-heartedly and accidentally disconnecting the computer from the speakers so that the music receded into the background. "Maybe I should go talk to Kurt."

"I'm afraid I've beat you to the punch," said a voice from behind him.

Finn turned around. Kurt stood in the doorway, tears streaming down his face, as though waiting for permission to enter.

"Kurt?" said Finn. "Are you okay?"

Kurt sniffled and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm f-fine."

"Dude, you're crying."

Kurt cried harder.

"Kurt?" Finn walked over to Kurt in the doorway. "Dude, what's wrong? Do you need me to get my mom?"

Kurt shook his head.

Finn drew him into the room and sat him down on the bed. He felt his forehead. "Are you sick? Do you want your dad?"

"No, no, no," said Kurt, shaking his head again. "St-top. Don't feel s-sorry for me. I c-came in her to ap-pologize, but then I h-heard you s-singing and now I c-can't stop c-crying long enough to t-tell you that I'm s-s-sorry!"

Finn hid a smile behind his hand. He sat down next to Kurt and placed a hand on his back. "I'd recommend breathing as a good start."

Kurt hiccupped, sniffled, and wiped his eyes again. "I kind of expected you to deck me when I came in here."

"Because that would totally prove my point."

"About that…" Kurt fidgeted. "You were right, you didn't really do anything wrong on Friday. I mean, you were kind of being annoying, and you could have kept your big mouth shut once I…but… Blaine and I acted like jerks and you were caught in the middle of it when you were just trying to be nice."

"Um, yeah, pretty much."

"You should have left me alone when I told you too."

"Obviously."

"And your efforts to 'explain' really didn't help the situation."

"I realized that."

"Finn, I'm really sorry."

"You always are."

Kurt looked up at Finn. "What do you mean?"

"You know," said Finn, and Kurt did. "I've apologized for that, like, a thousand times. I know it was bad, okay? I know I shouldn't have said it, but I can't take it back and you _were_ being inappropriate. And I know I should have had your back and I didn't. But I have your back _now_. Are you ever going to stop holding it over my head?"

"I guess I have been holding it over your head," said Kurt after a few seconds.

"Yes," said Finn, "you have. And I'm getting really tired of it. I know I'm not perfect, but neither are you. And I feel like there's always this…thing hovering between us. I really want to be your brother, Kurt. But sometimes I feel like you won't let me."

"I'm not—" Kurt swallowed. "I never intentionally… I'm not used to having a brother."

"Neither am I," said Finn.

"But I really want to be your brother too."

"Kurt, I know how hard it is to forgive someone when they've hurt you—"

"Oh, Finn, I have forgiven you."

"You don't really act like it."

"I know." Kurt touched Finn's shoulder. "Should I go now?"

Finn didn't answer, instead he said, "All the girls in glee club have been really on my case this week about last Friday."

"Crap," said Kurt. "When I went to them I didn't mean for them to go after you."

"What else did you expect?"

"I—I…don't know," said Kurt defeatedly. "I'll talk to them, I promise."

There was a stretch of silence.

"Finn…are you still mad at me?"

Finn rubbed his head. "No…as long as we can put this thing behind us. _Really_ behind us. Because I don't know what else I can do about it."

"Yes," said Kurt immediately. "And I'll talk to the girls and tell them to leave you alone. And I'll try not to be such a jerk."

Finn smiled. "Me too."

"You're not a jerk. Well, not usually."

"You're not _usually_ a jerk either," said Finn.

Kurt smiled and leaned his head against Finn's shoulder. "I'm glad we're talking again."

"Me too."

"My dad was practically breathing down my neck wanting to know what was going on."

"Really? What did he say?"

"Oh, he didn't say anything, he just _looked._ Oh crap."

"What?"

"Blaine."

"What about Blaine?"

"We kind of aren't speaking either. Have you heard from him?"

"Do you think _we__'__re_ speaking?"

"We need to explain this to him. I know he totally overreacted and wouldn't listen to us, but now that we—okay, I—stupidly brought it up he deserves to know the whole story."

"We _tried_ to explain it to him and it didn't work."

"But if we try again now that we've all had a chance to calm down—"

"There's no guarantee he'll _be_ calm once we start to talk to him. If you two aren't talking he might not even answer his phone when he sees it's one of us calling."

"Then we'll just have to go over there."

"To Westerville? Are you crazy?"

"Don't you want to make up with Blaine?"

"The dude attacked me!"

"Puck did a lot worse to you last year and you're friends with him again now."

"We've been best friends for years—"

"Well, I'm going over to Westerville to talk to Blaine, you can come or you can stay." said Kurt, folding his arms across his chest.

Finn looked at the stubborn set of Kurt's chin and the glint in his eyes. "Give me a minute to put my shoes on."

**AN: Guess what, guess what! I've already started longhanding the next chapter of the fic :D Only…the scene with Blaine is proving pretty difficult to write & I still have to update all my other fics before I update tis one again. Oh, well, until next time! (or until you review & I reply to you [providing you have an account] ;) )**

**-SQ**


	20. Chapter 20: Remember the Time

**Author's Note: Well _that_ was a bitch of a chapter to write! Phew! So much reworkingng with this chapter. I actually wrote 4 1/2 notebook pages of the middle and then scribbled them out and rewrote the whole part because it was crappy. I also had very little time to work on fanfiction these past couple weeks because of end-of-the-semester business. It is a very long chapter though. About twice the usual length even excluding the song in the middle of it.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I do [not] own Harry Potter (or the song)**

**Chapter Twenty: Remember the Time**

Kurt drove and Finn sat in the passenger seat.

I'm still not sure this is a good idea," said Finn.

Well, it's a little late to turn back now," said Kurt waspishly.

"Having second thoughts?" asked Finn.

"Shut up, Finn."

"Are we fighting again?" said Finn.

Kurt sighed. "No, Finn, sorry. I'm just stressed."

Finn laid a hand on Kurt's knee. "If he's a jerk he's a jerk, that part's not your fault."

"He's not a jerk," snapped Kurt. "And it actually kind of is my fault. None of us would be in this position if it wasn't for me and my big mouth."

"He's sure acting like a jerk," Finn muttered, too low for Kurt to hear.

They pulled the car up in front of Blaine's house and got out, going up the walk and steps and ringing the front doorbell. A few seconds later Blaine's mother opened the door.

"Oh…hello dears…" said Mrs. Anderson, looking surprised and rather dismayed before quickly plastering a cheery smile on her face. "Come in, come in!" Finn and Kurt followed her into the foyer. "I assume you're here to see Blaine? He's up in his room. Right up there" —she looked around nervously, as though afraid of being seen—"last door on the right."

"Yes, we know, thank you, Mrs. Anderson," said Kurt.

He and Finn climbed the stairs and knocked on Blaine's bedroom door. "Blaine? Blaine, it's Kurt and Finn. We need to talk, can we come in?"

Inside the room Blaine froze. No. No. This couldn't be happening. Kurt couldn't be here. _Now._ He was supposed to be avoiding Blaine! _Go__away_, Blaine thought desperately. _Please__go__away!_

"Blaine? Blaine, come on," said Kurt. "This is stupid. Aren't I supposed to be the stubborn one? Just talk to us. Just _listen_to us." He tried the doorknob; it turned. "Blaine, we're coming in whether you like it or not. We did not drive all the way out here to be ignored." Kurt turned the knob all the way around and stepped into the room, Finn following a couple steps behind. Blaine lay in his bed with his eyes closed and his headphones in his ears.

"We know you're not asleep, Blaine," said Kurt.

"And those headphones aren't even plugged into anything," said Finn.

Blaine opened his eyes. "Please go away."

"We're not leaving until we've talked about Friday," said Kurt firmly. He sat down on the foot of Blaine's bed.

Blaine flinched and moved away. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is," said Kurt.

Blaine pushed himself up against the headboard, keeping his gaze carefully pointed away from Kurt. "It happened, okay? End of story."

"End of story?" asked Kurt incredulously. He tried to move closer to Blaine but the shorter boy stood and walked over to his computer chair. "What do you mean, 'end of story'? Blaine!"

"Leave it alone, Kurt," said Blaine forcefully. "It's done. You can't fix this."

"Hey," protested Finn. "That's not fair—"

"_You_ stay out of this," snapped Blaine. "What I did doesn't make what you did any better." He sat down heavily in the chair, making it spin so that his back was to Kurt and Finn.

"Hey," said Finn again, "You don't know anything about—"

"Shut up, Finn," said Kurt. He put his hands on either side of Blaine's chair and swiveled the boy around to face him. "Fine, be mad at me," he said. "Maybe I deserve it. Just be mad and _listen_."

That caught Blaine's attention. "Mad at you?"

"Well, yes," said Kurt. "I assume that's the reason why you haven't been speaking to me. Well, that and the fact that I wasn't speaking to you. But I'm speaking to you now and I didn't drive all the way over from Lima not to have you listen."

"You shouldn't have driven over at all," said Blaine, trying to turn away.

Kurt held the chair in place. "I'm trying to _explain_—"

"There's nothing for you to explain," said Blaine. "Just—just go back to avoiding me."

"You want me to avoid you?" said Kurt, his voice losing some of its power.

"I didn't say that," said Blaine.

"Really?" interjected Finn. "Because it sure as hell sounded like—"

"I said he _should_ avoid me," snapped Blaine. "For his own safety. Something _I_ happen to care about."

"So do I!" said Finn angrily. "You don't know anything about my relationship with Kurt! I would do anything for him!"

"Then do this," growled Blaine. "Turn around and take him out of here and make sure he doesn't come back."

"I'm not doing anything until you give us a straight answer about—"

"Finn," snapped Kurt, cutting him off, "you're not helping. Blaine, _you__'__re_ not making any sense. You want me to avoid you? To—" he swallowed, "to leave and never come back?" His voice cracked. _"__Why?__"_

"Because if you're not around me it can't happen again," said Blaine.

"_What_ can't happen again?"

"Me hitting you."

Kurt looked at him blankly.

"You hit Kurt?" demanded Finn, narrowing his eyes. "When?"

"When you and I were fighting," said Blaine into his hands, which were obscuring his face. I lost my temper and I…" his voice broke. "I hit him."

"But you were aiming at Finn," said Kurt.

"But I hit you."

"It didn't even hurt," Kurt lied.

"Yes it did," said Blaine.

"It was an accident," said Finn.

"That's how it always starts."

"How _what_ always starts?" said Kurt impatiently.

"Abuse," whispered Blaine, raising his head. "I can't…" he dropped his eyes, lifted them back up to Kurt, dropped them again. "I can't let you become the victim of my temper."

There was a shocked silence.

"_Abuse?__"_ said Kurt quietly. "Blaine…" he knelt on the floor in front of Blaine's chair, "I don't know where you got that kind of idea from, but you are the furthest from abusive I could imagine." He laid his cheek against Blaine's knee and clasped the older boy's hands in his own.

Blaine shuddered and withdrew his hands, pushing his chair as far back as it would go. "Kurt, stop."

"Blaine—"

"I said _stop_!" Blaine stood up. "I can't do this, okay? I. Can't. _Do._ This. _We_ can't do…" he waved his hand between Kurt and himself, "this." He sank onto the bed. "I really need you to leave now."

Kurt looked down at Blaine on the bed, completely at a loss. What Blaine was saying…it didn't make any sense. He crossed to the window and leaned his forehead against the cool glass, tears sliding down his cheeks onto the sill below.

Finn followed Kurt with his eyes and then snapped his gaze back to Blaine. "Well?" he said harshly. "Are you happy now?" Blaine didn't respond. "Don't you care about him at all?"

"Do I look happy?" said Blaine, turning tortured eyes to the boy towering above him. "And of course I care about him. I care _too__much_ about him. Don't you see that's why I have to do this? I can't let myself hurt him. I'd rather die."

"You seem to be doing a pretty good job of it right now," said Finn, jerking his head toward the window.

Blaine just shook his head helplessly and covered his face with his hands once more. "I _hit_ him. I can_not_ let that happen again."

"So don't," said Finn baldly.

Blaine drew his hands away. "I'm not planning on it."

"So that's it then?" demanded Finn. "You're breaking up with Kurt?"

"You had better take better care of him than you have in the past."

"I want to know the reason you're breaking up with my brother," hissed Finn.

"I told you," said Blaine. "_You_ might not care about whether his relationships are healthy, but _I_ do. I would do anything to keep him safe, something which obviously can't be said for you."

"Now you listen here," said Finn angrily. "First of all, you can't know the circumstances of last year, so you and in no position to judge. Second of all, no, you shouldn't have lost your temper, but your accidentally hitting him once when you were aiming at me doesn't make you an abusive boyfriend any more than my using the word 'faggy' once because I was upset and angry makes me a bad brother. I _love_ my brother. And up until today I thought you did too."

Finn crossed to Kurt and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, Kurt?" he asked. Kurt nodded then shook his head. Finn rubbed his step-brother's back between his shoulder blades. "Asshole," he spat at Blaine over his shoulder.

Blaine hung his head, un-gelled curls obscuring his eyes. "I know."

"I don't understand," muttered Kurt thickly. A tear dripped down his nose and splashed onto the floor at their feet. "Why does he think he did something wrong?"

"He _did_ do something wrong," Finn pointed out.

"Well, yes, but…" Kurt shook his head. "If he'd just _listen_..."

Suddenly Finn had an idea. "Maybe you should try something different."

Kurt looked at him blankly, his eyes red and puffy, his cheeks streaked with tears. "What do you mean?"

"If he won't listen when you talk, then maybe you should—"

"—sing," finished Kurt. "Finn, that was your second good idea this month."

Finn shrugged. "I don't know big words and stuff, but I'm not stupid you know."

Kurt smiled through his tears. "I know." He stood on tiptoe to kiss Finn's cheek and then said, "Back me up?"

"What song?"

"You'll know when I start signing, trust me."

Kurt drew his arm across his wet eyes and crossed the room to sing directly to Blaine, even though the other boy would not meet his eyes. After the first few words Finn fell into the background.

"_Do you remember when we fell in love?_

_We were young and innocent then_

_Do you remember how it all began?_

_It just seemed like heaven so why did it end?_

_Do you remember back in the fall?_

_We'd be together all day long_

_Do you remember us holding hands?_

_Into each other's eyes we'd stare_

_(Do you remember the time?)_

_When we fell in love_

_(Do you remember the time?)_

_When we first met, boy_

_Do you remember the time when we fell in love?_

_Do you remember the time?_

_Do you remember how we used to talk?_

_No we'd stay on the phone all night till dawn_

_Do you remember all the things we said?_

_Like how I love you so, not gonna let you go_

_Do you remember back in the spring?_

_Every morning birds would sing_

_Do you remember those special times?_

_They'll just go on and on in the back of my mind_

_(Do you remember the time?)_

_When we fell in love_

_(Do you remember the time?)_

_When we first met, boy_

_Do you remember the time when we fell in love?_

_Do you remember the time?_

_Those sweet memories will always be dear to me_

_And boy, no matter what was done_

_I will never forget what we had_

_Now baby_

_(Do you remember the time?)_

_When we fell in love_

_(Do you remember the time?)_

_When we first met, boy_

_Do you remember the time when we fell in love?_

_(Do you remember the time?)_

_Remember, my baby!_

_(Remember the times)_

_Ooh!_

_(Remember the times)_

_Do you remember, boy?_

_(Remember the times)_

_Oh the phone, you and me!_

_(Remember the times)_

'_Till dawn, two or three! What about us, boy?_

_(Remember the times)_

_Do you, do you, do you, do you, do you?_

_(Remember the times)_

_In the park, at school_

_You and me at the Lima Bean_

_(Remember the times)_

_What about, what about…_

_(Remember the times)_

_Ooh…in the park, after dark._

_(Remember the times)_

_Do you, do you, do you?_

_(Remember the times)_

_Do you, do you, do you, do you?_

_(Remember the times)_

_Yeah, yeah, ooh!_

_(Remember the time)_

_Remember the time!_

_Remember the times!"_

Kurt ended the song seated in front of Blaine on the bed. "Do you remember?" he asked softly.

"Oh Kurt," said Blaine, "of course I remember. How could I forget?"

"Are you still leaving me?" asked Kurt softer still.

"I don't _want_ to leave you…"

"Then don't." Kurt scooter closer to Blaine, so that their legs were touching. "Please."

Blaine sniffled.

"You're crying."

"Your song was beautiful."

"Can I hug you now?"

Blaine nodded. Kurt's arms immediately enveloped him, pressing the shorter boy's head into the countertenor's designer-clad shoulder. Blaine's arms responded of their own accord, wrapping themselves around Kurt's slim waist and pulling him closer. This was so much more complicated than either Kurt or Finn realized, but that was something that Blaine would never tell them, and right now he couldn't bring himself to pull away. _I__'__ll__just__have__to__be__careful_, he thought. _Extremely__careful._

Kurt kissed the top of Blaine's curly head. "I love your hair like this."

Blaine let out a watery laugh. "It's a mess._I__'__m_ a mess."

Kurt pulled back slightly and kissed the tears away from Blaine's cheeks. "You're gorgeous."

"Can I see your shoulder?" asked Blaine.

"Blaine—"

"Please? I promise I'll drop it after this."

Kurt sighed and, against his better judgment, pulled his collar down to expose his pale shoulder and the purple and green bruise coloring it.

Blaine sucked in his breath. "Oh, Kurt…"

"It's not as bad as it looks, honestly," said Kurt. "I bruise easily, you know that. It's already starting to fade." He pulled his shirt back over the bruise. "Blaine, it was a complete accident. You were mad at Finn because of something I said. Something I would _not_ have said if I have known you were there. Something I _shouldn__'__t_ have said at all."

"That's true," said Finn vehemently.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Thank you for that entirely unnecessary comment, Finn."

Blaine looked between the two boys. They didn't _look_ like a bully and victim. In fact, the tension that had often hovered between them seemed to have evaporated. "So…about that…"

Kurt sighed and snuggled back into Blaine's arms. "Well, you pretty much heard the worst of it." Finn coughed. "On _his_ part," added Kurt quickly. "But I'll get to that. First…I suppose the formation of "Furt started with the formation of the New Directions."

"'Furt'?" interrupted Blaine.

"You know," said Kurt. "Finn, Kurt, Furt… Oh forget it, Finn made it up anyway."

Blaine snorted. "Furt…"

"_Klaine,__"_ Finn coughed into his hand.

"What?" said Blaine.

"Nothing," said Finn innocently.

"Excuse me," said Kurt. "Story in progress here."

"Sorry, sorry," said Blaine. "Go on."

"Finn wasn't originally part of the glee club," said Kurt. "He was the quarterback of the football team, the coolest guy in school, and we were losers with a capitol 'L'. Dumpster tossing, locker slamming, slushy facials, it's what people like them did to people like us."

"That doesn't make it okay," said Blaine.

"No, it doesn't," said Finn. "It's not something I'm proud of, okay?"

"Please believe us when we say we've dealt with this," said Kurt, laying an appeasing hand on his boyfriend's arm. "Finn and Puck never did it after they joined New Directions. They stood up for us, and got slushied for their trouble."

"I didn't stand up for you as much as I should have," said Finn.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. Now who's not letting it go? We started to become friends," said Kurt, "which would have been fine, except…"

"Except what?" said Blaine.

"Except that I…I kind of…developed a…a little…crush on Finn," mumbled Kurt.

"A _little_ crush?" said Finn. "Dude, you were _all__over_ me!"

"Okay, okay," said Kurt, "a big crush! A monumental crush!"

"Wait, what?" said Blaine. "You…you liked _him_?"

"What?" said Finn defensively. "I'm pretty likable."

"Yes, but, I mean…" Blaine struggled for words. "I thought _I_ was your type."

"You are," Kurt assured him. "I don't know what I was thinking. No offense, Finn."

"Are you telling me that you're now living with your ex-crush?" said Blaine.

"Don't tell me you're jealous of Finn," said Kurt.

"Well, you have to admit it's a little weird…"

"Finn is my brother," said Kurt firmly. "There is only one person I feel _that_ way about now. And it's definitely not Finn." He leaned back and kissed the side of Blaine's neck.

"So, what happened?" asked Blaine, settling Kurt more securely onto his lap.

"What do you think happened?" said Kurt. "I arranged for our parents to meet—"

"You _arranged_—?"

"—so that I could get closer to Finn. But it backfired. My _dad_ got closer to Finn. So then I was both jealous of him _and_ I liked him. I didn't exactly do a good job of keeping the fact a secret either. I was…" he sighed. "I acted completely inappropriate. Our parents wanted to move in together, so I was asking—well, forcing Finn to give me his opinion on my rather, um, flamboyant decoration of 'our' room and…"

"I flipped out and called the decorations 'faggy'," finished Finn. "Burt heard me and threw me out of the house. It almost broke up our parents and very nearly ended our already strained friendship."

"I guess…I didn't know the full story before," said Blaine.

"No," said Finn, "you didn't."

"I'm…sorry?" said Blaine.

"Apology accepted," said Kurt. "We were all at fault. Right, Finn?" he added pointedly.

Finn hesitated. "Yeah," he said finally. "Yeah, it's okay dude, we're cool." He gave Blaine a lopsided smile.

Doubts and fears swell up inside Blaine, but he quelled them, pushing them aside to dwell on later. Right now he was holding Kurt in his arms and Finn was smiling at him and maybe life wasn't quite so bad after all.

**AN: Hey! The smooshing-italicized-words-together-problemis not more! Snazzy!**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you forgive me enough for the wait to review ;)**

**-SQ**


	21. Chapter 21: Cars and Carnivals

**Author's note: Merry Christmas everyone! Here is your Christmas present, another chapter of Boy Bonds from me :D**

**I know not all of you celebrate Christmas, but whether this is a Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, belated Solstice, or any other kind of present for you, here it is ;)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Unless I get it for Christmas tomorrow, I don't own _Glee_.**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Cars and Carnivals**

"Where in the _world_ have you two been?"

Kurt started violently back into Finn, who instinctively wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's shoulders. They looked up to find both Burt and Carole glaring at them from the bottom of the staircase.

"Um…" said Finn.

"We had to talk to Blaine," said Kurt.

"Blaine again?" said Burt, narrowing his eyes.

Shit.

"It was really important," said Finn. "There was a…misunderstanding. We had to sort things out."

"And what was so _urgent_ that you didn't have time to call or leave a note?" asked Carole archly.

"Um, we forgot," said Finn lamely.

"Apparently."

Burt opened his mouth, looked at the two boys—Finn with one arm still protectively around Kurt's shoulders—and closed it again. "I see you two have made up."

Kurt and Finn glanced at each other. "Um, yeah."

"Would that have anything to do with the 'misunderstanding' you had to sort out with Blaine?" Burt's question was directed at his sons, but his gaze was trained on his wife.

"Yes," said Kurt, Finn, and Carole at the same time.

"You told her?" said Kurt, rounding on his brother.

"I was upset!" said Finn. "And you told her everything last time you were mad at me."

"How did you know that?" said Kurt.

"Blaine told me."

"Tattletale," muttered Kurt.

Finn ruffled Kurt's hair.

"Hey! Only Blaine's allowed to do that!"

"Hey, brother trumps boyfriend, don't you think?"

"Don't be so sure about that."

The two teenagers suddenly realized that their parents were still looking at them with great displeasure from the foot of the stairs.

"Um…" said Finn.

"Aren't you pleased that we're friends again?" said Kurt.

"Yes," said Burt, "but we are not pleased that you left the house and drove all the way over the Westerville to see Blaine without telling us. Again."

"You could have called," muttered Finn.

"So could you," said Carole. And we did call. You didn't answer."

"Oh."

"You're not going to ground me again, are you?" said Kurt, horrified, looking appealingly at his dad.

"No," said Burt. Kurt let out a sigh of relief. "But we are going to take the cars away for a week."

"What?" said Finn. "Come on, that's not fair, Kurt was just—"

"From _both_ of you, added Carole firmly.

Kurt opened his mouth to protest but Finn clapped his hand over it.

"I don't know what it's like with your dad," he whispered a he steered a struggling Kurt up the stairs, "but arguing with my mom will only make it worse."

*****BB*****

"Shit, really?" Blaine groaned and flopped back on his bed, phone pressed to his ear. "This is all my fault." He ran a hand through his curls. "Kurt, I'm so sorry. Do you want me to come over there and tell them it was my fault? I—"

Kurt cut him off. "Baby, no. That would only get you in trouble too."

"But—"

"Blaine, stop. I still have my care to get me to Dalton, obviously; I'll see you there tomorrow."

"I just…it seems like being my boyfriend is making everything harder for you."

Kurt glared at the phone as though his expression could be transmitted through the line. "_Blaine._ I _love_ being your boyfriend; I wouldn't give it up for the world. Now go to bed and I'll see you in the morning. Kisses."

Blaine smiled slightly. "I love being your boyfriend too. Kisses.

Both boys hung up their respective phones, crawled into their respective beds, and switched off their lights. Kurt, as usual, was asleep within moments. Blaine, also as usual, lay awake for many minutes before the lull of sleep washed over him.

*****BB*****

Kurt and Blaine were sipping their coffees together at the Lima Bean after Warblers rehearsal on Friday when their phones chimed simultaneously, alerting them of incoming text messages.

They pulled them out, read them, and then slid them across the table for each other to see. Both messages said the same thing

_To: Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_Look outside_

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other, eyebrows raised, and then turned to look out of the window across from them. Nothing outside appeared to be out of the ordinary.

Their phones chimed again.

_To: Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson_

_From: Finn Hudson_

_Other window_

Blaine and Kurt swiveled their gazes and then laughed. Sitting in the Lima Bean parking lot was a car full of grinning New Directions members, waving and beckoning for them to hurry up and get out there.

"It appears we are being summoned," said Blaine.

"So it would seem," agreed Kurt. He slowly picked up his coffee cup, bought it to his lips, and drained it before standing and throwing it into the trash can with great deliberation. Then, keeping an eye on the car full of his impatient ex-classmates, he took Blaine's preferred arm and allowed himself to be led outside.

"It took you long enough!" cried Rachel as soon as Kurt and Blaine were within hearing distance. Kurt just smirked at her.

"Get in the car, white boys," Mercedes instructed.

"Where are we going?" asked Blaine as he helped Kurt in and then clambered in after him.

"There's a carnival thing Lima this weekend," said Puck from the driver's seat. "Mr. Shue scored tickets and 'mysteriously' ended up with two extras. We thought you want to come along."

"A carnival?" said Kurt. He turned to Blaine, his face glowing. "Oh, can we go, please?"

Blaine laughed and tapped Kurt on the nose with his forefinger. "How could I say no to that adorable face? Besides, I am a beast at carnival games."

"Oh yeah?" said Finn, turning around in the passenger seat.

"Yeah," said Blaine. "What? Think you can beat me? Be my guest." He flourished his arms.

Finn narrowed his eyes. "Oh, you are _so_ on, Anderson."

*****BB*****

Four hours later, Finn finally had to admit defeat.

"Wow," he said, as the game worker handed Blaine a giant purple teddy bear. "You really _do_ beast at carnival games."

Blaine grinned like a little kid and shouldered his teddy bear. "Told you."

Finn's stomach gave a loud rumble. "I think it's dinner time," he said.

"Come on," said Blaine. "If you help me carry these prizes I'll buy you a hot dog."

The two of them were seated at a picnic table, devouring a jumbo chili-cheese-dog each and a joint large fries, when Kurt, Puck, Rachel, Mercedes, and Sam, and Mike, Tina, Lauren, Quinn, Santana, and Brittany, who had met them at the park, came up.

"Whoa!" said Puck, eyeing the pile of stuffed, inflatable, and rubber objects piled at Blaine's feet.

"Finn," said Santana, "how many times did you _lose_?"

Finn scowled at her.

"Blaine," said Kurt. "What in the world are you going to do with a giant stuffed Bob Marley banana?"

"I dunno," said Blaine, shrugging and taking another bite of chilidog. "Use it as a bed? It looks pretty comfy."

"Are all those going to fit in the car?" asked Quinn dubiously.

"It's a big car," said Puck.

"I hope so," said Sam.

"Well, it's your guys's problem," said Quinn. "I'm going home."

"How were the rides?" asked Blaine, pulling Kurt onto his lap.

"Great!" said Brittany brightly.

"Britt and I spent most of our time on the go-carts," said Santana wryly.

"They were okay," said Kurt, wrapping his arms around Blaine's neck. "Mostly a lot of versions of the same stuff, but it was fun."

"Mercedes, Lauren, and I went on this awesome ride that dropped us straight down from sixty feet in the air," said Rachel, "but Kurt, Tina, and Quinn were too chicken to go on it."

"I don't want to die, thank you very much," retorted Kurt. "No, Blaine, I will _not_ let you kiss me when you've been eating that horrible chili-cheese-dog!

"I'll stick to the twister," said Lauren.

"Ugh, no way," said Mercedes, making a face. "Those rides make me sick."

"Me too," said Tina, looking slightly green at the thought.

"I'll go on anything!" said Rachel proudly.

"We _know_," said Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Mike, Puck, Sam, Lauren, and Santana.

"She's been saying that all day," Kurt muttered to Finn and Blaine with a roll of his eyes.

"What did you guys do?" Finn asked Sam, Puck, and Mike.

"We went on a couple rides," said Sam, "but then we went to check out the fun houses."

"Fun houses?" said Blaine. "Plural?"

"Uh-huh," Mike nodded. "There are three."

"There was a mirror in the second one that made Sam's mouth look even bigger," said Puck.

Mercedes looked at her watch. "It's already almost ten o'clock, guys, and I promised my mom I'd be home by then. You guys can come over if you want though."

"Sleepover?" said Kurt hopefully.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea," said Mercedes. "And yes, before you ask, we can swing by your house to pick up your toiletries and stuff."

Kurt grinned. "You know me so well."

"So, who's in?" asked Mercedes.

Not me," said Puck. "I've got to babysit my sister tonight."

"Yeah," said Sam, "I've got to watch Stacie and Stevie."

"You can bring them over to my place if you want," said Puck.

"Okay, sure," said Sam. "They'd love that. Thanks."

"I have to head home too," said Mike. "Can you take me home so Tina can drive over to Mercedes's house?"

"Sure," said Puck.

"Me too," said Lauren.

She, Puck, Sam, and Mike waved to the others and started toward the parking lot.

"Are the rest of you in?" asked Mercedes.

"I don't know if I should be having a sleepover with Rachel when I'm, you know, dating Quinn," said Finn uncomfortably.

"You're not having a sleepover with me," said Rachel. "We're _all_ having a sleepover at Mercedes's. And it's perfectly innocent."

"Well…okay," said Finn after a few moments. "I'll come if Blaine's coming."

The other six looked at the boy in question.

"My parents won't be thrilled…" he said slowly. They all looked at him pleadingly. "But okay. Let me just call them." He took out his phone and selected "home" from the phonebook.

"Hey, it's Blaine. I'm in Lima and one of Kurt's friends invited a bunch of us to stay the night at her place, so I won't be home tonight. I'll call you tomorrow to tell you when I'll be home. Bye. Answering machine," he said to the others with a smile as he ended the call. "I'm in."

**AN: I hope you enjoyed that. I enjoyed writing it, it was fun. I had to think of fun, fluffy things to precede the next bit of angst & drama, lol.**

**This chapter was my holiday present to you, now your reviews can be your holiday presents to me ;)**

**-SQ**


	22. Chapter 22: Monopolization

**Author's Note: So…I wrote ½ of this last week…then I finished watching StarTrek TOS 2 days ago and, well...found that the logical thing to do was to spend all of my time obsessing over Spock to ease my withdrawal. Hence only getting this done tonight & not having even started longhanding the next chap of Adorable Mess. Oops. Here it is, anyway.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I own a copy of the _Glee_ Concert Movie, but not Glee itself**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Monopolization**

They arrived at Mercedes's house and the black girl let them in.

"Mercedes? Is that you?"

"Yeah!" shouted Mercedes. "I brought some friends to stay over, is that okay?"

A pretty, plus-sized black woman appeared in the entryway. "Sure, honey. As long as their parents know."

"They do. This is my mom," said Mercedes. "Most of you have met her. Mom, this is Finn, he's in Glee Club too, and this is Blaine, Kurt's boyfriend, he goes to Dalton."

"Hi," said Finn.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Jones," said Blaine.

Mercedes's mother smiled. "You too, Blaine. And Finn. Mercedes, I hope your room is clean enough for all these people."

"It is," said Mercedes, rolling her eyes. "Come on guys, let's go upstairs.

The group trouped upstairs and deposited their things on Mercedes's bed.

"What should we do?" asked Mercedes.

"Do you have any good games?" asked Santana.

"Depends on what you mean by good," said Mercedes dubiously.

"Not _that_ kind," said Santana. "I know better than to suggest those with Berry and Hummel around."

"I veto spin the bottle," said Kurt at once, shooting a look at Blaine.

His boyfriend sighed. "Won't you _ever_ let that go?"

"It was Rachel!" said Kurt.

"Hey!" protested Rachel. "I happen to be a very _good_ choice of a person to kiss, thank you very much."

"I _said_ I was sorry!" Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt and nuzzled his neck until the taller boy giggled.

"Stop! Blaine, stop! That tickles!" he squeaked, squirming. "I forgive you! I forgive you! Just stop!"

"Ugh, get a room," said Santana with a look of disgust that contained just slightly too much smirk to be taken entirely seriously.

Blaine ceased his attack and settled his arms loosely about Kurt's waist. "So, what game are we going to play?"

"Do you have Monopoly?" asked Tina.

"Who doesn't have Monopoly?" said Mercedes.

"Oooh!" said Brittany. "Can I be the pony?"

"You can be anything your little heart desires," said Santana. "As long as I get to be the moneybag."

"I want the shoe," said Mercedes.

"Hey, I wanted the shoe," said Tina.

"You can have the iron."

"No way! I am an independent woman!"

"Okay, the car then, or the thimble, I don't care, just not the shoe."

Tina thought for a moment. "Okay, fine, I'll be the car I guess."

"Can I be the battleship?" said Finn.

"If I can have the hat," said Kurt.

"What should I take?" asked Blaine.

"The Scottie dog," said Kurt and Finn at once.

Blaine raised his eyebrows. "Because of my hair?"

"Because of your hair," agreed Finn and Kurt.

****BB****

"Hey, no teaming up," protested Rachel.

"We're not teaming up," said Blaine, in a tone of mock affront.

"You just made your fifth property trade with Kurt," Mercedes pointed out.

"I wanted Indiana Avenue."

"And I _saw_ Finn not build houses on his properties until _after_ you went past them," accused Santana.

"What can we say?" said Kurt. "Guys have got to stick together."

"What happened to being an honorary girl?" said Rachel.

Kurt just shrugged.

"Bros before hoes," said Finn.

"Excuse me?" said Rachel.

"Oh no," said Tina.

"He did _not_ just call us hoes," said Brittany, tightening her ponytail.

"Aw _hell_ to the naw!" said Mercedes.

Santana cracked her knuckles. "You are just _asking_ for a beating, Frankenteen."

"Um…" said Finn.

"On second thought…" said Kurt.

"Oh no," said Rachel, a not-at-all-comforting grin spreading across her face, "you made your choice."

The three boys looked at each other.

"I suggest," said Blaine, "that we run."

*****BB*****

"You know," said Rachel several hours later as they all lay sprawled out and half asleep across various surfaces in Mercedes's room, "we never did finish that game of Monopoly."

"Who ever finishes a game of Monopoly?" said Santana, yawning.

"Elementary schoolers," saiu Mercedes at the same time that Finn and Brittany both said, "I do."

"Case in point," said Blaine with a grin.

Finn elbowed him in the side.

"Hey!" protested Kurt. "In case you hadn't noticed, there is a _person_ in between you two! _Me!_"

"Is there?" said Blaine innocently.

"Just looks like an annoying little brother to me," said Finn, grinning.

"Mercedes! Rachel! Tina!" said Kurt imploringly. "I've decided I want to be an honorary girl again. Get me away from these maniacs!"

"Traitor!" said Finn as Kurt squirmed out from between his brother and boyfriend to take refuse with the girls.

The bedroom door opened. Kurt slid off Mercedes's bed onto his butt and looked up at the doorway. "Oh, hello, Mrs. Jones."

Mercedes's mother lifted her eyebrows, hands on her hips. "Mercedes, it is almost three in the morning."

"Uh, is it?" said Mercedes.

"Yes," said her mother. "And some of us are trying to sleep."

"Sorry, Mrs. Jones," said Tina quickly.

"We didn't realize we were being so loud," said Blaine.

"Or how late it was," said Rachel.

"I can't even read a clock," said Brittany.

"We'll be quieter," said Finn, looking chastened.

"Thank you," said Mrs. Jones. "Might I suggest that you kids think about getting some sleep as well?"

"We'll think about it," said promised Tina.

Mrs. Jones gave them a last look and then closed the door.

"Oops," said Brittany.

Santana laughed.

"Shhh!" hissed Rachel.

Santana glared at her.

"Should we think about going to bed?" asked Finn quickly.

Mercedes shrugged. "Are you tired?"

"I am," said Kurt, stifling a yawn.

"Me too," said Tina.

Brittany nodded, her blond ponytail bouncing.

Where should we sleep?" asked Rachel.

"Well, there's a double bed and a fold out couch in the guest room. And someone can sleep in my bed with me. Two people'll have to sleep on the floor in here though."

"Britt and I call the double bed," said Santana immediately, linking fingers with the blond.

"I'm taking the futon then," said Kurt.

"I'll go with Kurt," said Blaine, ignoring the suggestive looks and Kurt's blush which resulted from this statement.

"I'll go with you, then, Mercedes, if that's all right," said Tina.

"Sure," said Mercedes.

Finn and Rachel looked at each other slightly awkwardly.

"Um…" said Finn.

"I guess that leaves us with the floor," said Rachel in a falsely bright voice.

""Is that okay?" said Mercedes.

"Oh, yeah, sure, of course," Rachel and Finn said quickly.

Kurt yawned again and his head drooped onto Mercedes's shoulder.

"Hey sleepyhead," she said, prodding him. "Sleeping on me was not one of the options."

Kurt lifted his head reluctantly.

"Come on," said Blaine, holding out his hands to help Kurt up. "Bedtime." He pulled Kurt to his feet and they started toward the door.

"Don't do anything, you know…" said Finn.

"Finn!" said Kurt, blushing once more.

"He means no sex," smirked Santana.

"_Santana!"_ Mortified, Kurt buried his face in Blaine's collar.

Blaine chuckled and patted him on the back. "They're just teasing you, baby."

Kurt's response was muffled, as his face was still buried in Blaine's pajama shirt, but still perfectly understandable. "Well, I don't appreciate it."

Everyone laughed.

"Goonight Kurt, Blaine! 'Night, Santana, Brittany!"

"Goodnight!"

The four of them left Mercedes's bedroom for the guest room, while Mercedes, Tina, Finn, and Rachel settled down to their own sleeping arrangements, Mercedes and Tina in the bed, Rachel and Finn as far apart as possible on a pile of blankets on the floor.

There was a loud thump from the other room.

"Guys!" hissed Mercedes.

"Sorry!"

She shook her head. "Good_night_."

"Goodnight!"

**AN: So, this chapter was basically all niceness & fluffiness, & the next chapter will mostly be, though there will be a bit of not-so-nice thrown in. More big drama is coming up in the not-so-distant future. In the meantime…Spock calls. I think I might be able to extricate myself from his…fascinating association long enough to reply to your reviews though ;)**

**-SQ**


	23. Chapter 23: Nightmare

**Author's Note: Ugh. Life. Not that there's anything particularly bad about it at the moment. It just seems to be rather time consuming. Hence the delay :P Don't have too much to say here, so I hope you enjoy the chapter. Read on!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I don't even get to watch _Glee_ every night it's on, forget about owning it.**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Nightmare**

Kurt woke suddenly to the convers of the bed thrashing and twisting violently around him.

"Mmph! Hey! Cut it out! What's going—Blaine? Oh my God, Blaine, are you okay?"

The still-sleeping boy whimpered loudly, moving erratically as though trying to escape from something.

"Blaine!" Kurt rolled onto his knees and gripped Blaine's shoulders, shaking them. Blaine cried out, jerking away from Kurt and smacking his head loudly against the headboard.

"Blaine!"

Blaine's eyes shot open and the looked around wildly, breath coming in short, quick gasps.

Kurt touched Blaine's cheek with the back of his hand. It was cold and damp. "Blaine," he said, an edge of panic to his voice, "baby, what's wrong? You're shaking." He rubbed Blaine's arm with the other hand. "Blaine, talk to me, please. Are you sick?"

Two tousled heads appeared over the side of the bed.

"You had _better _have a reason for making all that noise, gay boys."

"Is that the Tooth Fairy?"

Blaine took a shaky breath and swallowed down the panic in his throat. "I-It was just a-a nightmare. I-I'm fine. Sorry…"

"You are obviously not fine," said Kurt. He pulled Blaine's tense form against him. Blaine gratefully buried his head in the crook of Kurt's neck, breathing in his comforting scent. Kurt rubbed his back.

"Kurt's right," said Santana. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Oh," said Brittany, sounding disappointed. "I thought it was the Tooth Fairy. She never brought me my money for the last tooth I lost." Then she perked up. "Is it Casper the Friendly Ghost?"

Blaine shook his head. "It's nothing," he muttered, embarrassed.

Kurt stroked his hair. "Shhh. I've got you. You're sure you're okay? How's your head? You hit it on the headboard."

"Did I?" said Blaine. He reached up a hand to feel the back of his pate. "I think it's fine."

Kurt made no move to loosen his hold on his boyfriend. "You wanna take a walk? Get something to drink?"

Blaine raised his head and opened his mouth to protest, but Santana cut him off. "That sounds like a good idea. All this commotion has made me thirsty."

Brittany nodded. "Ghosts make my thirsty."

All four of them got up and tiptoed into the hall, Kurt with his arm wrapped securely around Blaine's waist.

Brittany and Santana, who were in front, nearly walked into Finn, who was standing right outside the door.

"What are you doing, Frankenteen?" hissed Santana.

"I heard a noise. "He looked over the girls' shoulders and caught sight of Kurt and Blaine. "Blaine? Dude, what's wrong?"

Blaine shook his head, dark curls a stark contrast against his pale cheeks, which were now graced with a faint blush. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"He had a nightmare," supplied Kurt.

Finn frowned sympathetically. "Dude, that sucks. Are you alright?"

Blaine shrugged in irritation. "I'm fine," he snapped. "It was just a dream, okay? Leave me alone."

Kurt, Finn, and even Santana and Brittany looked slightly taken aback. Finn took a step away from Blaine and Kurt removed his arm from around his waist.

Blaine sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't want you to leave me alone. I'm just feeling touchy right now. Please don't be angry, Kurt. Finn."

"I'm not angry," said Kurt and Finn at the same time.

They hugged him. He hugged them back.

"Are we going to get something to drink?" asked Brittany.

Blaine nodded. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

They continued down to the kitchen, Kurt with his arm once more around Blaine's waist, Finn with his hand resting on Blaine's shoulder.

Two minutes later, Kurt was perched on the counter with Blaine standing in front of him between his legs, Kurt's elegant fingers buried in his curly hair. The shorter boy had a cup of warm milk cradled in his hands. Finn stood beside them, shoulder-to-shoulder with Blaine, and Santana and Brittany were seated in chair at the kitchen table.

"Feel better?" asked Kurt, leaning forward to get a look at his boyfriend's face.

"Mmmm," said Blaine, leaning back into Kurt's hands.

"Warm milk makes everything better," said Brittany.

"On that, Brit, we can agree," said Kurt.

"Blaine, what was your dream about?" asked Finn curiously, taking a sit from his own mug of warm milk.

Blaine opened his eyes. Kurt felt his muscles tense. "It's not important."

"Dude, it had to be something to make you that upset."

"It was just a nightmare," said Blaine tightly. "Forget it."

"But—"

"_Forget it."_

Kurt moved his arms down around Blaine's neck. "Are you ready to go back to bed?" he asked, thinking it prudent to change the subject.

Blaine nodded. "Thanks for coming down here with me. All of you."

"No problem, dude," said Finn, clapping him on the shoulder.

"We had nothing better to do," said Santana in a bored voice.

"That's not very nice, Santana," said Brittany, frowning.

"Who said I was nice?"

"Nobody," said Kurt. He hopped down off the counter. "Come on, let's go back to bed. I need my beauty sleep."

Blaine laughed while Finn rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious! This—" he gestured to his face and body, "takes effort! And I can see you making faces at each other behind my back," he added.

Blaine whistled innocently and gave him a look as if to say, "Who? Me?"

"How can you see it if it's behind your back?" asked Finn.

"Why did I ever let you two meet each other?" Kurt groaned.

The five of them made their way back upstairs. Finn returned to Mercedes's room while the others crawled back into their beds in the guest room.

Kurt curled around Blaine's back, arms linked across the other boy's stomach. "You okay, baby?"

"Mmhm. I feel a lot better, thanks."

"I'm glad."

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's okay," said Kurt. "As long as _you're_ okay."

Blaine put his hand over Kurt's on his stomach and squeezed. "I'm fine, I promise. It was just a dream."

"A bad dream."

"I'll live."

Kurt smiled and kissed the side of Blaine's neck. "You're wonderful."

Blaine laughed. "_I'm_ wonderful?"

"Yes. You're perfect."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

Blaine exhaled softly, playing with the slender fingers splayed across his stomach.

"Blaine?"

"Hm?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I was just…thinking."

"What about?"

"You."

"What about me?" asked Kurt, nuzzling Blaine's neck.

Blaine chuckled as Kurt's nose tickled his skin. "That you're wonderful. Go to sleep."

**AN: I know that was short, and I'm sorry, but that's how it is. More angsty parts ahead! Thanks for reading. Here's to hoping the next update will be quicker. Reviews won't make me update faster only because I'm already updating as fast as I can, but they will make me happy :)**

**-SQ**


	24. Chapter 24: Relief

**Author's Note: A word advisement: This chapter has a scene of a hot and intimate nature. No, it's not a sex scene, but it's along that line, only not quite as far down it. At all. It's still T, though I do realize my definition of T might is on the liberal side. Still, it's not like there's even nudity in the scene. If you don't want to read the section you don't have to, it's not like I throw it at you with no warning.**

**Other than that, read on!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, and I don't own _Glee_.**

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Relief**

Finn tried to stay awake and think about what was troubling Blaine—because this nightmare hadn't been the first indication that something was—but he was just so tired that he drifted off before he had a chance.

*****BB*****

Finn woke up, pressed comfortably against another body. Though it felt nice, something in the corner of his brain was telling him that this shouldn't be. He opened his eyes and the rest of his brain registered just why it shouldn't be—the person next to him was Rachel Berry and he was dating Quinn Fabray.

Finn quickly pushed himself away, yanking the corner of his sleeping bag out from underneath the still-sleeping Rachel. The girl stirred and Finn did his best to pretend that they hadn't been practically spooning five seconds previously.

"Brrr," said Rachel, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Why am I suddenly so cold?"

Finn, shrugged, staring at the carpet.

Tina's head appeared above them. "What time is it?"

Finn looked at his watch. "Ten."

"Did something happen last night?" said Mercedes's voice from Tina's other side. "I thought I heard something. People moving around. But I wasn't awake enough to get up and check."

"Yeah," said Finn. "That was me and Kurt and Blaine and Brittany and Santana. Blaine had a nightmare."

Mercedes made a sympathetic sound.

"Is he okay?" asked Rachel.

"Is who okay?" asked Blain from the doorway.

Finn looked up and had to grin. The Dalton boy's usually immaculately gelled hair was sticking up every-which-way in a mess of unruly dark curls.

"You!" said Rachel. "Finn said you had a nightmare last night."

Blaine glared at Finn. "Was it really necessary to tell everyone? I'm fine," he said to Rachel. "He and Kurt are blowing it out of proportion." He looked back at Finn and narrowed his eyes further. "And why are you grinning like that?"

"Your hair," said Finn, still grinning.

"My—?" Blaine put his hand up to his head. "Oh for heaven's sake."

The rest of the room burst out laughing.

Blaine frowned and went over to look at himself in Mercedes's mirror. "Is it really that bad?"

"I think it's adorable."

Blaine turned around to face Kurt, who was standing in his pajamas in the doorway. "You stole my word," he protested.

Kurt laughed and pecked him on the lips. "Please, keep your hair like this." He ran his fingers through the curly locks. "I like it."

"You doing that is the reason it's like this in the first place," said Blaine.

"Oh?" said Kurt. "Maybe I should do it more often then."

Only if I get to return the favor," said Blaine. He reached his hand up and mussed Kurt's brunet locks thoroughly.

"Hey!"

Kurt tried to squirm away but Blaine held him in place with his free hand. Kurt felt a tingling between his legs and again tried to pull back, but Blaine jerked him closer. The tingling sensation increased as their bodies pressed flush against one another.

"Good morning. Would anyone like breakfast?"

Mercedes's mother appeared in the doorway. Kurt and Blaine sprung apart.

"Breakfast?" said Finn eagerly, his head snapping around to look at Mrs. Jones with keen interest.

The woman laughed. "Yes, breakfast. There are waffles waiting for you downstairs."

"Thanks, Mrs. Jones!" said Finn, jogging out of the room toward the stairs. The girls followed close behind.

Blaine made to follow too, but then noticed that Kurt was still hanging back by Mercedes's bed.

"Kurt? Aren't you coming?"

"Um…" said Kurt. He glanced down toward the front of his snug-fitting pajama pants.

Blaine followed the line of his gaze, his eyes widening when they reached its focus. "Oh."

Kurt blushed bright red, avoiding Blaine's eyes.

Blaine walked over to him and touched his cheek. "Do you want me to leave so you can take care of it or do you want me to help?"

Kurt made an incomprehensible sound in his throat and buried his burning face in Blaine's shoulder. Blaine was surprised to fell something we against the fabric of his pajama shirt.

"Kurt? Are you crying?"

Humiliated, Kurt nodded into Blaine's shoulder.

"Oh, Kurt." Blaine wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, burying his lips in Kurt's mussed hair. "It's nothing to be ashamed of." He rubbed Kurt's back and felt the other boy stir against him. "Come here."

Blaine steered Kurt out of the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom. He sat his boyfriend down on the toilet seat.

"Kurt, look at me. Hey, look at me."

Reluctantly, Kurt lifted his head.

Blaine wiped the salty tears from Kurt's cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm going to help you, okay?"

"Oh God," moaned Kurt, burying his face in his hands. "We're in Mercedes's _house_!"

"Shhh," said Blaine. He pried Kurt's hands away from his face. "Don't be scared."

"I'm not scared," said Kurt. "I'm _mortified_."

Blaine smiled. "Well, don't be that either. It's perfectly normal."

"_You're_ not…you know…" said Kurt, pointing at the front of Blaine's own pajama pants.

Blaine cocked an eyebrow. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Kurt looked down at Blaine's pants again. "But I don't see—"

Blaine took Kurt's hand in his own and steered it to his lap. "Your pants are tighter than mine."

Kurt swallowed hard. "Oh…"

Blaine released Kurt's hand and knelt on the floor between Kurt's legs, reaching up to take Kurt's face between his hands. He drew Kurt's face gently down to his own and kissed him slowly. Kurt kissed him back, which he took as an encouraging sign.

Blaine released Kurt's lips and brushed his hair gently away from his face. "I won't do anything either of us is uncomfortable with, I promise."

Kurt nodded.

Blaine kissed him again, deeper this time, but no less gentle, and felt Kurt twitch against the side of his leg. Maintaining the kiss, Blaine drew his left hand away from Kurt's face and placed it over the younger boy's stomach, right above his groin. Kurt's abdominal muscles tightened, the pressure increasing against Blaine's thigh. Blaine's own anatomy responded in kind.

Slowly, Blaine moved his hand downward, keeping his lips engaged with Kurt's and his right hand softly caressing Kurt's cheek.

He knew he had to be careful. This wasn't like when he had been in similar situations before—which he really didn't want to think about anyway—Kurt wasn't like him, he hadn't gone looking for this stuff like Blaine had. He had absolutely no experience in this area. Not that Blaine had all that much, but certainly more than Kurt. Blaine was sure his boyfriend has masturbated before, but probably not with any intention other than ridding himself of an unintended stimulus.

Blaine laid the palm of his hand over the front of Kurt's pants. Heat radiated from it. Blaine pressed forward, pressing Kurt against the back of the toilet with his mouth as he stroked Kurt's lap through the pale green fabric.

Blaine's own pants were tightening. _Uh-oh_, he thought. _This is supposed to be about relief, not exacerbation._

He slid his right arm out from between himself and Kurt and used the hand to apply pressure to his own growing problem. He mirrored the action on Kurt with his left, gently easing the tension out of both of their bodies.

"Is that better?" he asked, when they were both limp once more.

Kurt nodded, his pupils dilated to twice their normal size.

"You okay?" asked Blaine in concern, smoothing Kurt's hair back from his face with both hands.

Kurt nodded again and mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that?"

"It was a lot better than when I do it myself."

Blaine grinned. "That would be one of the perks of having a boyfriend."

"But I don't even know…"

"You will," said Blaine. "You just need practice."

Kurt blushed.

Blaine kissed his cheek. "You're adorable. Teenage boys are _supposed_ to be horny. It's in the job description."

"_Blaine!"_

The older boy chuckled.

"How…how did you…?"

"I tried to talk to you about this before and you freaked," Blaine pointed out.

"I know," said Kurt. "But I'm asking now. I…I want to know."

"Experimentation," said Blaine, shrugging. "Internet."

"I can't look this stuff up on the internet!" said Kurt. "Those pamphlets my dad gave me were bad enough!"

"That's why you have me," said Blaine, smiling. He tapped Kurt's nose with his forefinger. "In all honesty, though, you're okay?"

Kurt nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"It was the least I could do. I was the cause after all."

"That, my good sir, you most certainly were."

"Kurt! Blaine! Where in the world are you guys?"

Kurt and Blaine jumped and look at each other guiltily.

"Maybe we should go downstairs," said Kurt.

"Probably a good idea," agreed Blaine. He stood up and pulled Kurt to his feet. "After you, monsieur."

"_Kurt! Blaine!"_

"Coming!" they shouted simultaneously, and ran together out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

"Where have you _been_?" Mercedes demanded when they arrived, panting, in the kitchen.

"Um…" said Kurt.

"We had something to take care of," said Blaine smoothly.

Mercedes and Rachel exchanged confused looks, Brittany appeared completely oblivious, but Santana raised her eyebrows and stifled a snort.

Finn opened his mouth to ask a question, but Blaine said, "Mercedes, can you pass me the waffles?", Kurt reached for the orange juice, and the conversation around the breakfast table resumed its usual course.

*****BB*****

After breakfast, while the girls and Kurt were helping Mrs. Jones to clean up the kitchen, Finn pulled Blaine aside and said quietly, "What were you and Kurt doing upstairs earlier?"

Blaine took a step backward and met with the wall. He looked up into Finn's face, doing his best to ignore the claustrophobic feeling the position was causing him. "That's kind of Kurt's and my business, Finn," said Blaine firmly.

Finn made no move to back away. "Were you…you know? Because I know we're friends, but Kurt's my brother, and I don't think it's okay for you to be—"

"Finn," said Blaine. "Kurt just needed a little cooling off, okay?"

"Meaning…"

"Meaning he didn't want to come down to breakfast with a hard on."

"Okay, TMI," said Finn, blanching.

"You asked."

"I just want to make sure you didn't—didn't do anything—anything that—"

"All clothes stayed on," said Blaine." I don't think you need to know anymore and there really isn't any more to know."

Finn straightened up, looking relieved and a bit guilty. "Sorry, dude. I just wanted to make sure, you know?"

Blaine nodded, taking a breath before replying. "I understand. I'm glad Kurt has a brother like you to look out for him. Just don't' stick your nose too much into his personal business. You're likely to end up with more information than you wanted to know. ? And a bruised nose."

Fin chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

Kurt stuck his head around the doorway. "Finn, we should probably head home soon. I have a criminal amount of homework to do this weekend."

"Can you take me home?" said Blaine. "I know it's completely out of the way, but—"

"Of course!" said Kurt and Finn at once.

"Come on," said Kurt, "let's say goodbye to the girls."

**AN: I have to say, I really liked writing that scene (yes, that one). It was 1 of the scene that I just see very vividly in my head. And, honestly, was I was seeing was kind of hot. *shrugs* sorry :P**

**The next chapter is actually already completely hand-drafted, but I still won't post it until I've updated all my other fics. So is life ;P**

**Thanks for reading. There's another verb you might want to try as well. It starts with 'R' and ends with 'eview' ;)**

**-SQ**


	25. Chapter 25: Family Matters

**Author's Note: I was recently plunged back into the word on _Artemis Fowl_ by a significant turning point in my AF fic & conversations with several of my readers. One of these conversations became a series of role-play messages. This of course distracted me from getting this chapter up, but here it is now and I hope you enjoy it. You meet Blaine's father here. No, you won't like him.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer. Just no.**

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Family Matters**

Blaine inserted his key into the lock and let himself into his house. He had declined Kurt and Finn's offer to walk him to the door. He had told them it was because if they came in they would never leave and he had work he really had to get done, but the real reason was that he didn't want them there if his father were home.

When he walked into the front room he quickly ascertained that this had been the right decision.

"Blaine."

"Hello, Dad," said Blaine warily.

Leo Anderson leaned forward on the couch, his large hands pressing against his knees. "So nice of you to drop by."

"I left a message," said Blaine.

"A message," said Leo, making it sound like a bad word. "You think you can go off gallivanting wherever and whenever you choose with whomever you choose. You keep your mother up all night worrying about your sorry ass, though personally I'm not sure why she bothers, but it's okay because you left a _message_."

"Don't bring Mom into this," said Blaine tightly. "Don't try to make me feel guilty."

"You should feel guilty," growled his father. "You think I don't know who you were with last night, what you were doing?"

"You have no idea what I was doing," snapped Blaine.

"I think I have a pretty shrewd idea," said Mr. Anderson with a sneer.

"I'm going up to my room," said Blaine in a controlled voice.

Leo stood and put himself in between Blaine and the doorway. "I'm not done with you."

"I have work to do," said Blaine impatiently, attempting to get around his father.

"Maybe you should have been doing that yesterday instead of debasing yourself with that fag."

"Shut up," snapped Blaine.

"You think I don't know what you've been doing in Lima?" said Mr. Anderson, "You think I don't know that you've got some _boy_ hidden away down there?"

"Shut _up_!" said Blaine, attempting to shove his way past his father. He knew it was a bad idea to get angry at his father, it was just asking for trouble, but he couldn't help it. "You don't know _anything_ about me! You haven't bothered to since I was thirteen!"

"_Don't_ tell me to shut up," said Leo, slamming the palm of his hand against his son's chest, knocking him back against the wall. "I was good to you, I gave you everything, and you threw it all back in my face when you decided to start messing around with guys!"

"I don't _'mess around'_," spat Blaine, shoving his father hard in the chest. "Yes, I have a _boyfriend_. And I don't _hide_ him anywhere. You hide things you're ashamed of. I'm not ashamed of him, I am _proud_ of him. A lot prouder than I am of myself," he added in a mumble. He raised his voice again. "He makes me _happy_ for once in my sorry life, so I really don't give a fuck what you think about it!" Blaine took a swing at his father's face, which was inches from his own, but the larger man caught his wrists in his hands and slammed them back against the wall.

"You are the most selfish, _ungrateful_ piece of shit I have ever met. Do you have no respect for your mother and myself? I am ashamed to call you my son!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly thrilled about it either!" shouted Blaine. He wrenched his wrists out of his father's grasp and jammed his elbow into Leo's protruding gut. The man grunted, his face twisting with rage. He had lifted his hand to strike his son across the face when the sound of the front door opening caused both Anderson men to freeze.

Keys clinked; a coat was shrugged off and hung in the coat closet while Blaine and his father stood like statues, holding their breath.

"Hello! Leo? Blaine?"

The spell broke and Blaine and Leo stepped away from each other, still glaring murderously.

"Go to your room," said Leo shortly, straightening his collar.

"My pleasure," spat Blaine, still seething. He stormed out of the room and up the stairs while his father went to greet his wife with a kiss and a genial, loving smile.

*****BB*****

Blaine slammed his door shut and threw himself down on his bed. He hated his father, he really did. No matter what he did he always found a way to shoot him down.

It hadn't always been like that. When Blaine was little the two of them had had a great relationship, them and Blaine's older brother, Cooper. But when Blaine has started to take an interest in "sissy" things like singing and theatre and fashion mgazines, their relationship had begun to deteriorate. By the time Blaine had been outed to his parents at the age of fifteen, it had simply been the icing on the cake of mutual animosity.

He wanted to talk to Kurt, but Kurt would be suspicious if Blaine called him so soon after he had dropped him off, and it wasn't fair for him to unload all of his problems on his boyfriend.

Instead, he pulled his laptop toward him and booted it up. Logging into his facebook, he saw that Wes was online. Thank God for small favors.

_Wes?_

**Hey, Blaine! How are you? :)**

_Not so great_

**Oh? What's up?**

_My dad_

**Did you fight again?**

_Yeah_

**Fuck. Are you okay?**

_I'm fine, just pissed_

_He has no RIGHT!_

**I know, Blaine, I know. He's a bastard.**

—David Thompson has joined the conversation—

_**Blaine, are you alright?**_

_Hi, David_

_**Do you need me to come get you?**_

_No, I'm fine_

'**Cause we can, you know**

_I know, Wes, thanks. I just need to vent to someone._

_**We're all ears**_

_Thanks. I just…I spent the night w/ Kurt & a bunch of ND members Mercedes's house. I left a message at home, but of course that wasn't good enough for my dad._

_I don't know what he wants! He doesn't want me here, he doesn't want me away… Kurt makes me happy. Is that such a bad thing?_

**No!**

_**No!**_

Blaine smiled. He was so lucky to have these guys as his friends.

_I'm not good enough for him_

**Your dad?**

_No. Well, him too. I meant Kurt._

_**Kurt's crazy about you**_

_I know. Half of me still can't believe it. Even after I tried to leave him._

**Well, that was a stupid thing to do**

_**Wes!**_

**What?**

_**You're being insensitive**_

**Insensitive? I'm very sensitive. I'm the king of sensitive**

_**Whatever. Blaine, you should tell Kurt.**_

_About what?_

_**All of it**_

_No_

**Blaine…**

_**Blaine…**_

_Guys, no_

**He deserves to know**

_**He's not gonna think any worse of you**_

_You don't know that. And he deserves not to get dragged into all that crap. It's in the past. And I'll be gone from here in a yr & ½_

**A yr & ½ is a long time**

_Look, I know you want me to talk to Kurt about it, but it's not gonna happen, okay? If I do need to talk to someone I have you guys._

_**Of course you do**_

**Never doubt it**

_I don't. Thanks. I feel better now. I have to do work now but I'll talk to you later, okay?_

_**Okay**_

**Ttyl :)**

_*Hugs* guys_

Blaine closed the chat window and pulled up the file of an essay he was working on for history class, feeling calmer than he had before, but not nearly as calm as he had made out to his friends. He knew they meant well, and usually he took their advice (well, when they were being serious), but there were reasons he couldn't talk to Kurt about this stuff. How Kurt saw him….getting into all the nitty gritty details would not gel with that. Besides, it was in the past, irrelevant…

_One of the most successful leaders in English history was Queen Elizabeth I…_

**AN: Told you you wouldn't like him. Also, I took the name of Blaine's older brother from what it says online.**

**You know how in my 1st AN I mentioned my RP w/ 1 of my readers? Well, she & I have formed a partnership. We now have a joint account and have started writing a next gen Albus Severus/Scorpius _Harry Potter_ story. We will also probably end up with a co-written _Artemis Fowl_ story on that account. No stories have been posted yet, but the 1st chapter of our Albus/Scorpius fic should be up within a couple of days and we would be most obliged if you would check it out. Our account name is Crazy-Minds-Think-Alike.**

**I would also, of course, be most obliged if you would review this chapter ;)**

**-SQ**


	26. Chapter 26: Bruises

**Author's Note: Argh! I guess apologizing for update gaps really doesn't do much good, does it? I really do try, other things just catch up with me. I do hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own _Glee_, the hiatus for this story is just a coincidence :P**

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Bruises**

Kurt was waiting for Blaine when he arrived at Dalton's main entrance on Monday morning.

"Good morning, beautiful," said Blaine, leaning in to kiss his boyfriend.

"Did you miss me?" teased Kurt.

"Desperately," Blaine assured him.

Kurt giggled. "How was the rest of your weekend?" he asked as they entered the building.

Blaine shrugged. "Same old, same old. You?"

Full of homework," said Kurt, making a face.

Blaine chuckled. "As was mine. I think they must be trying to kill us."

Kurt nodded emphatically.

The first bell rang.

"Come on," said Kurt, grabbing Blaine's wrist, "we don't want to be late."

To Kurt's surprise, Blaine let out a yelp.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Kurt let go of Blaine's wrist and pushed up the older boy's sleeve. The flesh around his wrist was ringed with bruises.

"Blaine, what happened to your wrist?"

"I, um, shut it in the door."

"You shut your _wrist_ in the _door_?"

Blaine smiled sheepishly. "Just call me Grace."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Come on, Grace, we'll be late to class."

*****BB*****

Wes and David were not as easily fooled.

"Blaine, let me see your wrists."

"What?"

"Your wrists, Blaine."

"Why?"

"Because you've been holding them funny all day." David lifted his eyebrows. "We're waiting."

Blaine sighed and held out his arms to his friends.

Wes pushed back Blaine's sleeves and hissed angrily. "He did this to you."

Blaine pulled his arms back. "I swung at him first."

"Because he provoked you!"

"I should know better than to rise to his bait."

"He's your father!"

"Unfortunately."

"You told us you were okay," said Wes accusingly.

"I _am_ okay," said Blaine. He covered the bruises once more with the cuffs of his blazer. "Don't tell Kurt, okay? He only saw one of them and I told him I shut it in a door."

"Shut it in a door?" said David incredulously.

"I had to tell him something."

"How about the truth?"

"Look, guys, it's not like I'm cutting again. My dad did this, not me."

"Your father is abusive, Blaine."

"My father and I get into mutual fights."

"You don't deserve this, Blaine," said Was quietly.

"You don't have to take this."

"You can report it—"

"—live with one of us—"

"—or Kurt—"

"_Stop._ Guys," Blaine took a measured breath, "we've been over this."

"We worry about you," said Wes.

"I'm fine."

"You're not."

"I manage."

"You're not supposed to 'manage', Blaine. You're _seventeen_.

"And this summer I'll be eighteen."

"And then you'll move out?"

Blaine snorted. "To where? With what money?"

"Blaine…"

"Guys," said Blaine, "I appreciate your concern. Really. I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. But it's better now. I hardly ever talk to him anymore. I have you and the Warblers and Kurt and Finn and the rest of New Directions…"

Wes and David shook their heads.

"Okay, Blaine, but you know you can always come to us if things get to be too much to handle."

"I know." Blaine smiled. The other Warblers began to trickle into the rehearsal hall. "Come on, you guys have a rehearsal to start."

*****BB*****

After one of their fights, it was generally advisable for Blaine to stay out of his father's way, so when Finn and Kurt invited him to hang out with them after school, he readily accepted.

"How was the rest of your weekend?" asked Finn when the three of them were gathered around the Hudson-Hummel kitchen table, snacking on chips, veggies, and dip.

"Oh, you know, nothing exciting," said Blaine, shrugging. "Homework and stuff. How about you?"

"Pretty much the same."

"Blaine," said Kurt, "since you're here would you mind helping me with my chemistry homework? I'm going crazy."

Blaine laughed. "No problem. If _you_ help _me_ with this French assignment."

*****BB*****

Surprisingly, the three of them actually managed to get a decent amount of work done before it was time for Blaine to go home.

"Stay and watch _House Hunters_ with me," Kurt pleaded.

"Sorry, Kurt, I can't, I've really got to get home." Blaine kissed Kurt's head. "I don't want to know what'll happen if I'm not home for dinner."

Kurt looked between the TV and his boyfriend, seeming torn.

Blaine laughed. "Stay and watch your show. Finn'll drive me home."

Kurt smiled. "Thanks." He kissed Blaine's cheek. "See you tomorrow."

Kurt settled himself down in front of the TV and Finn and Blaine went out front and got into Finn's car.

"How do you and Kurt manage all that homework?" asked Finn as he pulled out of the driveway. "I think I'd die."

Blaine laughed. "Well, a little extra work is preferable to being slammed into a locker ten times a day."

"True," admitted Finn. "Though if anyone tried to slam Kurt into a locker now I'd kill them," he added with a growl."

Blaine smiled. "I don't doubt it. I wouldn't like to have you or Burt as my enemy."

"Yeah, Burt can get pretty scary when he's angry."

Blaine made a non-committal noise. "Yeah, well."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

The two boys spent the drive to Westerville joking and chatting and messing with the dial on the radio.

Finn liked Blaine. Don't get him wrong, he loved Kurt, he was an awesome brother, but sometimes he was very…well, gay. Blaine was gay too of course, but he was more of a _guy_. Not that Kurt wasn't a guy, 'cause he was, but… Blaine liked to talk about sports and make immature jokes and didn't mind if there was an empty chip bag or two (or ten) in the backseat. And in a way he connected Finn more with Kurt. Which was cool.

"Blaine," said Finn as he pulled up in front of the other boy's impressive house, "do you still have that CD I lent you last week?"

"Oh, yeah," said Blaine. "I keep forgetting to bring it to school to give to Kurt."

"Mind if I just come in and get it?"

"Uh, sure," said Blaine. "Who knows when you'll get it back if you don't?"

Finn cut the motor and followed Blaine into the house.

"Mom, I'm home!" Blaine called as he shut the door behind them. "I'm just taking Finn upstairs to get a CD I borrowed from him."

Blaine rounded the corner into the living room and came face to face with his father.

"Hello, Dad."

Blaine's father grunted. "Who's this?"

"Dad, this is my friend Finn. Finn, this is my father."

Leo looked Finn up and down as though appraising him.

"Nice to meet you," said Finn politely.

"No, it's really not," muttered Blaine. "Let's go."

"Where were you?" asked Leo, still blocking the way to the staircase. "Why didn't you come straight home after school?"

"Finn invited me to his house."

"Wouldn't that have been nice to know."

"I told Mom."

The two Andersons glared at each other. Finn looked back and forth between them, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

"What if I had wanted you for something?" said Leo.

Blain snorted. "Yeah, sure, you wanted me. That'll be the day." He pushed past his father and up the staircase, Finn following behind him.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," said Blaine, opening his bedroom door. "My dad is a jerk."

"Dude, I'm sorry," said Finn. He patted his friend on the shoulder, unsure of what to say.

Blaine shrugged. "Such is my life; it could be worse." He grabbed the CD off his desk and tossed it to Finn. "Here you go."

Finn caught in neatly. "Thanks."

"No problem, thanks for lending it to me."

"Well, everyone should know about 3 Doors Down."

"I now definitely agree." Blaine sat down on his bed and tugged off his blazer, tossing it over the back of his desk chair.

"Dude," said Finn, "what happened to your arms?"

"What?" Blaine looked down at his wrists. "Shit. I forgot about that."

"Did you get into a fight?"

"No, I—"

"Dude, I go to McKinley and am on the football team and in Glee Club, I know what a fight looks like."

"Let it alone, Finn, please." Blaine rubbed at his wrists and Finn noticed for the first time that they were crisscrossed with faint scars.

"Blaine…" he said slowly, "have you been…hurting yourself?"

"What?" said Blaine. "No! I—" he faltered. "Not anymore."

"You used to?" Finn's voice was hushed and constricted.

Blaine sighed. "Not for a while now, not since I came to Dalton."

"So…your arms?"

"Let's just say that my dad and I _really_ don't get along," said Blaine darkly.

"Your _dad_ did that to you? !"

"Well, I did try to hit him. Finn, please, it's not that big a deal."

"It is a big deal," said Finn indignantly.

"Please stay out of it," said Blaine. "I already have Wes and David on my back about it, I don't need you too."

Finn gave Blaine a dubious look.

"Blaine! Dinner!"

"You'd better go," said Blaine. "Thanks for bringing me home."

Finn nodded and left with his CD, but the image of the bruises and scars adorning Blaine's wrists didn't leave is head for the entire drive home.

**AN: Yes, it's SQ & her obsession with Blaine's issues again. I've been hinting at them for ages & now I'm actually going to begin addressing them.**

**Thanks for reading! If you review that would be loooooovely ;)**

**-SQ**


	27. Chapter 27: Lies

**Author's Note: Argh, end of the semester! Next week is our last week of classes and then we have finals, so I have a million and one things to do. I was going to get this up yesterday, but I was working on a poster (yes, a poster, in college…) and it suddenly got really late. Also, my laptop hardrive failed (Yes, my laptop did break just over a year ago, at which point I started this fic.), so my laptop is currently at the shop and the contents of my harddrive is on my school's servers and the things I need right now are on a flashdrive. Joy. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter **

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: This past weeks episode of _Glee _rocked, but I still don't own it.**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Lies**

"Hey, Kurt, can I talk to you?"

Kurt looked up from the book he was reading for English class. "You already appear to be doing that."

Finn looked at him blankly.

Kurt rolled his eyes and shut his book, folding the corner of the page over to mark his place. "Yes, Finn, you may talk to me."

Finn sat next to Kurt on the couch. "Kurt, did you notice that Blaine's wrists were bruised today?"

"One of them was," said Kurt. "He shut it in a door."

"Is that what he told you?"

"Yes, because that's what happened.

"Finn fidgeted. "Um, actually, no, it's not."

Kurt looked at him. "Um, actually, yes it _is_. Blaine told me so."

"Well, um," said Finn, fidgeting uncomfortably under Kurt's gaze, "he must have, um, lied to you."

"Blaine wouldn't do that," said Kurt stubbornly.

"Well, I'm afraid he did, Kurt," said Finn. "Blaine got those bruises in a fight with his dad."

Kurt stared at Finn as though he had grown an extra head. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous," said Finn. "I'm telling you what Blaine told me. I went into his house to get a CD he borrowed from me. His dad was there and they nearly came to blows again."

"Are you telling me Blaine's dad _hits_ him?"

"Well," said Finn slowly, "I think it's more that they hit _each other_."

"Why would Blaine hit his father?"

"Because he's really kind of a major jerk," said Finn.

"'Kind of a major jerk' is a contradiction in terms, Finn," said Kurt. "Blaine _lied_ to me?"

"I think he didn't want you to worry about him," said Finn. "He told me not to get involved, said Wes and David are already on his back enough…"

"Wes and David know and not _me_?"

"Well, they are his best friends…"

"I'm his boyfriend!"

Finn cringed. "The bruises and Blaine's dad are only part of it," he said.

Kurt narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Finn took a breath. "I saw…I saw other marks on Blaine's writs. Older ones. Scars. From cuts. I think… I think he used to cut himself."

Kurt stared at his stepbrother in shock. "No." he said flatly.

"Kurt, he said—"

"_NO!"_ Kurt jumped up off the couch, sending his book flying. "Blaine's not lying to me, you are!"

Finn was on his feet as well. "Why would I lie to you about something like this? Why would I lie to you at all? I'm only telling you what he said!"

"Well, you're _wrong_!" shouted Kurt. He shoved Finn hard in the chest and, when that had next to no effect on the larger boy, turned and ran out of the room. A few seconds later Finn heard his bedroom door slam.

He sank back down into the couch, wondering whether he had done the right think in telling Kurt what he had learned about Blaine.

*****BB*****

Finn was lying. Kurt knew he was lying. He _had_ to be lying. Or he had misunderstood something Blaine had said. Yes, that was it, Finn was totally dense enough to misinterpret something perfectly innocent and dramatic enough to blow it way out of proportion. Of course that was what had happened. Kurt had been silly to think otherwise. Blaine wouldn't _lie_ to him. There was a perfectly good reason for the bruises on Blaine's wrists—he had shut them in a door. Clumsy, but possible. Right? And the older scars… Blaine used to play sports as a child, Kurt remembered him mentioning it. Not every little gay boy spent all his time hosting tea parties and learning how to bake chocolate soufflés.

"Hello-o. Earth to Ku-urt. What are you thinking about so intensely?"

Kurt blinked, dragging his eyes away from Blaine's wrists. "Oh, uh, nothing. Just…nothing."

Kurt _knew_ Finn was wrong, he knew it, but he couldn't keep his gaze from being pulled to his boyfriend's arms every spare moment throughout the day. Blaine caught him staring and shot him confused looks, at which point Kurt looked hurriedly away; but he always found himself staring again, as though he could somehow develop x-ray vision and see the state of the flesh beneath the navy blue blazer sleeves.

*****BB*****

"Okay!" said Wes, banging his gavel smartly against the podium in front of him. "Order. Order!"

The group of Warblers gathered in the rehearsal hall fell silent and turned their attention to the three Council members.

"We're starting work on a new number today," said Thad once he was sure he had their undivided attention. "This one's going to have a decent amount of choreography, courtesy of yours truly, so we thought we'd get started on that first."

The Warblers looked around at each other excitedly. They did love a good dance number.

"Alright, attention please," said Wes, tapping his gavel in front of him once more. "We're going to split you into four groups, so listen up…"

*****BB*****

Half an hour later found them all in the middle of the rehearsal hall, the chairs pushed back toward the walls, trying to follow Thad's complex footwork and working up a sweat.

"Whoo!" said Blaine, drawing an arm across his forehead. "Talk about getting your workout for the day! He tugged off his blazer, throwing it haphazardly onto a nearby chair.

Thad clapped his hands. "Try again! A one-two-a-one-two-three-four!"

Kurt and Blaine turned their focus back to Thad, following his movements as best they could.

"Left! Right! Left! Ball-change! Spin! Rock-step! Unwind! Pose!"

Kurt posed, panting, his feet wobbling slightly before he found his balance.

"Blaine," said Thad, "lift your arms higher."

Blaine did, bringing them level with Kurt's eyes. Both wrists bore fading bruises and the skin above them bore several parallel scars. The bruises looked almost hand-shaped…

"Kurt, look front!"

Kurt turned his face back toward Thad, trying to convince himself that the scars and bruises on Blaine's arms didn't mean anything. Certainly not what Finn had said they meant.

*****BB*****

"Blaine," said Kurt casaully as they walked outside together after rehearsal. "You played sports when you were a kid, right?"

Blaine looked over at his boyfriend. "Just about every one in existence. And I hated every single one of them. Why?"

Kurt laughed. "Why'd you do them, then, if you hated them so much?"

"My dad kept signing me up."

"Couldn't take a hint?"

"Apparently not."

_They hit each other._

"I bet you got knocked around a ton," said Kurt, grinning, "being so small."

"I am not _small_," retored Blaine, "I am _short_, there's a difference. And I wasn't so much shorter than everyone else back then. I'll have you know that I was actually pretty decent at most of them. I just hated them. Although, actualy, soccer wasn't so bad. I really kind of liked it."

"So why'd you stop?" asked Kurt, now genuinely curious.

"Practices conflict with Warblers rehearsals. My dad was livid."

_Blaine got those bruises in a fight with his dad… They almost came to blows again._

"Kurt?"

"Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you and Finn wanted to come over to my house after school on Frday."

"Oh, sure, yeah, that sounds good," said Kurt. "You and I could even get a head start on that French project. 

The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds and then burst out laughing.

"Well, it's the thought that counts, right?" said Kurt.

**AN: Aaaaand…Fin certainly did do something. He told Kurt. Well. The cat's out of the bag now. More drama to come when they go to Blaine's house on Friday. In the meantime, reviews are more than welcome ;)**

**-SQ**


	28. Chapter 28: The Box

**Author's Note: I know you guys wish I could update faster; so do I, but I also have other stuff to do, so I write when I can and update when I can. Here is the next chapter :)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: _Glee_ is over for the season and this story is not, therefore I do not own _Glee_.**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Box**

By Friday Kurt had mostly succeeded in putting the question of Blaine's injuries out of his mind. The bruises on his wrists were fading and neither he nor Finn had made any further reference to Blaine's dad. Things were back to normal.

Currently, the three of them were splayed out on Blaine's leather couch watching Disney movies on his 72 inch TV.

"What do we want to watch next?" asked Blaine as the credits for _The Fox and the Hound_ rolled across the screen.

"Something happier," sniffled Kurt.

Blaine looked at him. "Oh my God, Kurt, you're crying."

"It's sad!"

"Kurt cries at everything," said Finn.

"I do not."

"You cried at _Project Runway_."

"Rafael was eliminated!"

"It was a rerun!"

Blaine laughed. "Okay then, not something remotely sad."

"How about _Hercules_," suggested Finn.

"That's sad!"

"No it's not. And it's _good_."

"What about _Anastasia_?" suggested Blaine.

"Blaine," said Kurt, "This is a _Disney_ movie marathon, _Anastasia_ is not Disney. I still don't see what you have against _The Little Mermaid_—"

"It's girly!"

"Did you know that in the real story of _The Little Mermaid_ she's supposed to stab his fiancé to get him and when she can't she turns to sea foam instead and he marries the other girl?" said Blaine.

Kurt looked horrified. "Way to ruin the story for me, Blaine! Fine, we can watch _Hercules_. It _is_ good."

"The best," agreed Finn happily. "The best Disney movie, I mean."

"No, _The Lion King_ is the best," said Blaine. "Did you know it's based on Hamlet?"

"Nerd," said Kurt.

"I prefer the term 'well educated,'" said Blaine haughtily.

"My favorite is _Beauty and the Beast_," said Kurt.

"Because Belle _totally_ isn't a nerd…"

"I didn't say I didn't like nerds," said Kurt, "I'm dating you, aren't I?"

"So are we going to watch Hercules or not?" asked Finn.

"We can if we can find it," said Blaine. "I think it's somewhere up in my room…"

"Nose goes," said Finn, pressing his pointer finger to his nose.

Blaine followed suit. "Awww, too slow, Kurt," said Blaine with false sympathy. "I guess you're going to have to go look for it."

"You know, it would make more sense for _you_ to look for it in _your_ room," said Kurt, getting up off the couch.

Blaine would come to greatly regret not accepting the wisdom of this statement, but, as he, like most of us, could not predict the future, he simply replied, "Too bad. You lost nose goes. And you're already up anyway. The sooner you go find it the sooner we can watch it."

Kurt rolled his eyes but complied, jogging up the stairs and down the hall to Blaine's bedroom.

"If I were a _Hercules_ VHS tape, where would I be…? Or rather, if I was Blaine where would I put my _Hercules_ VHS tape?"

Kurt began looking around, picking things up and opening drawers at random. Soon his curiosity got the better of him and he forgot about looking for the tape in favor of looking for things that would tell him more about Blaine.

He found several pictures of Blaine—Blaine with the Warblers, Blaine with Wes and David, Blaine with Kurt. There was only one of Blaine with his family and it was pushed to the side as though to discount or hide it.

On the shelf of Blaine's closet, mostly hidden by stacks of various things that the boy obviously didn't care much about any longer, Kurt spied several participation trophies and medals for various Little League sports teams. Kurt picked up a couple of the shiny plastic figures, smiling at the mental image of a young Blaine dressed in a soccer or baseball or basketball uniform.

Standing on his tiptoes, Kurt peered further back on the shelf. It was dark and dusty, which made it difficult to see, but he could just make out what appeared to be a shoebox sitting at the far end of the shelf. Kurt reached his arms as far as they would go and managed to wrap his fingers around the edge, sliding it toward him.

"Hmmm, now what could this be…?"

Sitting down on Blaine's bed, he blew the dust off the cover of the box. Someone, presumably Blaine, had written in large black sharpie letters **Private Property of Blaine Anderson**.

Kurt hesitated and then lifted the lid. Inside were several magazine cutouts, a flashdrive, a notebook, an empty pill bottle, and old razor, and an audio recorder.

The magazine cutouts were all of male models and celebrities. There were also several photos of Blaine standing with a tall, broad-shouldered brunet with brown eyes and a wide but false-seeming and slightly feral smile.

Kurt picked up the notebook and flipped through it. It was filled with a younger version Blaine's handwriting. Kurt opened to a page at random and began to read.

_Brian hit me again today. It hurt, but not nearly as much as it has before. I must be getting used to it. I'm sure he'll call soon to apologize and make it up to me. He won't be able to make it up of course, not really, and when he kisses and touches me like he does it'll hurt because of the bruises, but it's worth it to have a boyfriend. Besides, he had a reason to hit me. I know I'm not supposed to talk to him in public, so no one suspects that we're gay and together._

Kurt dropped the notebook, feeling sick. It wasn't Blaine's _dad_ who had hit him, it was his old boyfriend. Why hadn't Blaine told him? He had said he hadn't had a boyfriend before. He had lied.

Kurt scanned ahead in the notebook, hoping to find something saying that Blaine had broken up with the bastard or that they hadn't really been dating in the first place or _something_. Several pages on he came across what appeared to be a list.

_Bruise on my arm—Brian_

_Bruise on my shoulder—Brian_

_Sprained shoulder—Dad_

_Bruise on my chest—Dad_

_Bruises on my inner thighs and down there—Brian (he likes to play rough)_

_Split lip—Dad_

_Broken rib?—Dad_

_Concussion?—Brian_

_Cuts on my wrists—me_

_People who care—None_

Kurt felt like he was going to throw up. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real. And yet there it was, written in Blaine's own handwriting, starring up at Kurt as the entire foundation of his relationship with Blaine came tumbling down around his ears. The notebook fell from his grasp once more and landed open to the final page.

There were two words written on it in large, spikey, ominous-looking letters:

**THE END**

And then, below them in the bottom right hand corner of the page: Track 11

With trembling hands, Kurt picked up the digital recorder and clicked forward to track number eleven. The sound of an acoustic guitar and a voice, younger and rougher and full of pain and desolation, but still unmistakably Blaine's, filled the room in surprisingly good quality.

_I dreamed I was missing, you were so scared_

_But no one would listen, 'cause no one else cared_

_After my dreaming I woke with this fear_

_What am I leaving when I'm done here?_

_So if you're asking me, I want you to know:_

_When my time comes forget the wrong that I've done_

_Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed_

_Don't resent me and when you're feeling empty_

_Keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest_

_Leave out all the rest_

_Don't be afraid, I've taking my beating_

_I've shared what I made_

_I'm strong on the surface, not all the way through_

_I've never been perfect, but neither have you_

_So if you're asking me, I want you to know:_

_When my time comes forget the wrong that I've done_

_Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed_

_Don't resent me and when you're feeling empty_

_Keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest_

_Leave out all the rest_

_Forgetting all the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well_

_Pretending someone else can come and save me from myself_

_I can't be who you are._

_When my time comes forget the wrong that I've done_

_Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed_

_Don't resent me and when you're feeling empty_

_Keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest_

_Leave out all the rest_

_Forgetting all the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well_

_Pretending someone else can come and save me from myself_

_I can't be who you are_

_I can't be who you are_

A solitary spoken word ended the recording: _Fin._

When Kurt looked up from the recorder in his hand he found Blaine standing in the doorway, his hazel eyes wide and his face devoid of all color as he stared in horror at the box sitting next to Kurt on the bed.

"That's—mine—" he choked out.

Uninvited, a swell of rage rose up inside of Kurt, threatening to suffocate him. "Why didn't you tell me!"

"Kurt—"

"What else have you kept from me!"

"If you hadn't gone through my stuff without asking—"

"_I told you everything!"_ screamed Kurt as tears of hurt and shock and rage spilled from his eyes.

Footsteps pounded up the stairs and Finn appeared on the landing behind them. "What's going on?"

"Go," said Blaine as Kurt pushed past him, knocking him into the doorframe. He stared at the contents of his broken fifteen-year-old spirit strewn across the down comforter. "Just—just go."

**AN: I don't have much to say, except that the shit has kind of hit the fan. Drama. I hope you enjoyed.**

**Until next time, I always enjoy reviews :)**

**-SQ**


	29. Chapter 29: What Now?

**Author's Note: This chapter was actually pretty hard to write. Distractions aside (and trust me, there were plenty), I didn't really know what I wanted to happen _or_ how to write it. I hope I succeeded in giving you a good chapter. That said, things are not resolved in this chapter. Expect to be left wondering what the hell is going through their minds.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Own _Glee_ I do not.**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: What Now?**

"Kurt! Kurt, what happened? !" Finn pounded down the stairs after his stepbrother.

The sobbing boy hurtled down the staircase, through the living room, and out of the house, throwing open the car door.

"Drive," he said, as soon as a very confused Finn had climbed into the driver's seat. "Just drive."

"Kurt," said Finn, making no move to start the car, "what _happened_?"

Kurt shook his head. "_Please_, Finn," he said, his voice choked and hoarse, "please just take me home."

Finn almost refused. He almost crossed his arms and said that he wouldn't budge until Kurt told him what had happened. He almost did, but he didn't. Instead he pulled his key out of his pocket, stuck it in the ignition, and backed out of the driveway, casting sideways glances at Kurt all the while.

He continued to glance at his brother the entire way home. Kurt could feel Finn's questioning, worried gaze, but he ignored it, his own eyes fixed unseeingly ahead, completely silent except for the occasional sniffle.

When they finally arrived home Kurt was out of the car before Finn had taken the key out of the ignition and up the stairs to his room before Finn had passed through the front door.

"Finn? Kurt? Is that you?" Carole's voice called from somewhere within the house. "I thought you weren't going to be home for dinner."

"Change of plans," said Finn, hanging up his coat and following his mother's voice and the smell of her cooking to the kitchen. "Kurt's not feeling well. I think he had a fight with Blaine."

"Oh?" said Carole, looking up from the salad she was preparing. "What about? Nothing serious I hope."

Finn shrugged. "I dunno. Kurt wouldn't tell me. He seemed pretty upset, though."

"Well, give him some time to cool off," said Carole, handing Finn the bowl of salad to put on the table. You know how he gets."

Finn nodded, hoping that his mother was right and this would all blow over in a day or two. The memory of the looks on Kurt's and Blaine's faces in the seconds before Kurt had fled the room, however, said otherwise.

Kurt didn't come down to dinner that night. When Burt went upstairs to tell him it was ready he said that he had a stomachache, and when Finn went up to bed later that night Kurt's light was off.

*****BB*****

Finn opened his eyes to the dark ceiling and thought, _Why am I awake?_

Then he heard a tapping on his door and it creaked open, casting a thin shaft of light across the hardwood floor.

"Finn?" said a soft voice "Are you awake?"

"I am now," Finn whispered back. "What is it?"

The door opened further and Kurt slipped into the room, shutting it behind him so that the sliver of light widened and then disappeared. Finn heard him pad over to the bed and then felt the mattress sink as he sat down on the edge.

"Can we talk?"

"Yeah, dude, of course," said Finn, not pointing out that he had tried to talk earlier and had been rebuffed. Instead he sat up and scooted over to make room for Kurt on the bed. "What's up?"

"He lied to me," said Kurt, drawing his knees up to his chest. "He _lied_ to me, and I'm so mad I could punch him."

Even Finn didn't have to ask who 'he' was. "What did he lie to you about?"

"Everything!"

Now Finn did have to ask. "Can you be, uh, a little more specific?"

"He had a boyfriend before me! Who hurt him, but he still stayed with him. He…he _did_ things with him. He did things to himself too! It wasn't just his boyfriend and his dad who hurt him! And I don't know where this boyfriend went or anything!"

"Well, maybe—"

"No!" said Kurt. "I don't want to hear it! How could he just not tell me? What else hasn't he told me? ! He tried to _kill_ himself, Finn! How could he _do_ that? !"

Finn didn't know what to say. He had suspected that something was going on with Blaine, even that the other boy had once used to hurt himself, but trying to _kill_ himself? Where had Kurt gotten that anyway? Finn didn't even know what to think.

"So…you're pissed?"

"Hell yes, I'm pissed!" Kurt glowered into the darkness. "I'm so pissed I don't know what to do!"

_Well, that makes two of us_, thought Finn.

"You could talk to—"

"Definitely _not_!" shouted Kurt before Finn could even finish his sentence, making the larger flinch and glance toward the door in case their parents had woken up. I am not talking to Rachel, I am not talking to Mercedes, I am not talking to your mom or my dad or Wes or David. And I am certainly _not_ talking to Blaine!"

In the mood Kurt was in, anything Finn said would be construed as an attack, so instead he opted for a silent hand on Kurt's shoulder.

The smaller boy sniffled but didn't shrug off the contact. They sat there for several minutes in silence. Finally Kurt slid off the bed and returned to his own bedroom, but neither brother got very much sleep that night.

*****BB*****

By Monday morning Kurt still didn't know what he was going to do when saw Blaine at school that day. But when he walked into first period Blaine wasn't there. Kurt's initial stab of worry was almost immediately replaced by relief and then a wave of anger. Blaine was avoiding him now? Oh, real mature. Of course it did make things somewhat easier, but it still made Kurt mad.

"Kurt," said Wes, he and David falling into step beside the younger boy, "do you know where Blaine is today?"

"No," said Kurt shortly.

Wes and David exchanged a look; they had heard that tone of voice before.

"Did you two have a fight?"

"How should I know?" snapped Kurt. "Why don't you ask him, see if he'll tell _you_ anything."

"Uh…Kurt, are we missing something here?"

"Not any more than I'm missing, apparently."

"Kurt—"

"Did you know? Did he tell you?"

"Did he tell us what?" said David.

"Oh nothing, anything, everything!" exploded Kurt, throwing his hands up into the air.

"Kurt!" snapped David, losing his patience. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Blaine!" shouted Kurt. "Blaine and the fact that he can't trust his own fucking boyfriend with what's going on his life! Tell me, does he make a habit of hurting himself, or does he usually let his dad and _Brian_ take care of that? No, forget it," he said before Wes or David could respond. "I don't want to hear another word about it!"

Kurt turned around and stormed back up the hallway toward his next class. David and Wes looked at each other.

"Oh shit," said Wes quietly, his eyes very wide.

David nodded, completely agreeing with the sentiment, and then added one of his own: "We have to talk to Blaine."

*****BB*****

Blaine hadn't intended not to go to school on Monday, but when his alarm went off that morning he simply couldn't bring himself to make the effort. He had almost forgotten what it was like to feel this way, to have nothing to look forward to but more misery and loneliness.

How _stupid_ could he have been—not to mention how cliché—keeping that stuff in a shoebox in his closet? He should have burned it all ages ago, or flushed it down the toilet, or…or something! Anything but keeping it in the back of his closet where any nosy someone could find it. Not that Kurt had any _right_ to be snooping around in the back of his closet, but he might as well have been asking for Kurt to find the thing.

_Had_ he wanted Kurt to find it?

No! Never!

But Kurt had found it, and he had reacted as badly as Blaine had been afraid he would. How could he not? Blaine had allowed Kurt to build him up into the god, this superhero. And he had tried to live up to it, he had tried, but he just wasn't good enough. For Kurt, for Brian, for his mom, for his dad… He would never be good enough. Maybe eventually that would stop hurting.

"Blaine? Your friends are here. They've brought you your homework."

Blaine jumped and shoved his left wrist behind his back, tucking the razorblade out of sight with his other hand. His bedroom door opened and his mother's face appeared.

"Tell them I'm not feeling well enough to visitors," he said, trying to look pathetic. Truthfully it wasn't very difficult. "Have them leave my homework in the living room."

The door closed again and he heard his mother's muffled voice telling Wes and David that she was very sorry, but Blaine was too sick to see them right now and that she'd have him call later as soon as he was feeling up to it.

Blaine let his head sag against his pillows, watching the blood clot sluggishly on the inside of his arm. He had almost managed to drift off when a clatter against the pane of his bedroom window jerked him awake.

Huh? He looked up as the sound came again. A handful of pebbles had struck the glass of his windowpane and were now falling away to the driveway below. Someone was throwing rocks at his window?

Blaine's heart leapt and he scrambled up from his bed to the window. This was exactly the kind of thing Kurt would— Blaine's face and heart fell back down toward his shoes. It wasn't Kurt standing underneath his window looking up at him, his fist full of pebbles; it was Wes, David, and Finn.

"I'm sick," he grunted, opening the window just far enough for his voice to carry to the figures standing below.

"Oh no you don't," said Wes. "We know what happened, or some of it, and we've come to find out the rest. We won't leave until you let us in."

"Have fun spending the night out there, then," said Blaine, starting to shut the window once more.

"If you don't let us in we'll scale the walls," said Wes, and to Blaine's horror, and apparently David's and Finn's as well, he braced his foot against the side of the house and grasped the awning with both hands, looking for all the world like he was about to attempt to climb up the side of the three-story house. If it had been anyone else Blaine would have called his bluff, but Wes was actually crazy enough to do it.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming down. Just give me a minute." Blaine shut the window and shoved the former contents of the incriminating shoebox under his mattress. Five minutes later all four boys were seated on Blaine's bed and Blaine was crying unabashedly into David's shoulder.

"What exactly happened?" asked Wes once Blaine had finally cried himself out.

In a stuffy voice Blaine told them how he had come upstairs to find Kurt sitting on his bed, the contents of the previously hidden and nearly forgotten shoebox spread out around him.

"What was in there?" asked David. "What did he see?"

"Everything," said Blaine miserably. "My journal, the pictures, the razor, the pill bottle, my suicide song…"

"Suicide song?" said Finn.

Blaine nodded. "'Leave out All the Rest' by Linkin Park. A bit dramatic, I'll grant you, but quite appropriate for what I was feeling at the time."

"So you really did…?"

"Try to kill myself?" said Blaine. "Yes. I downed half a bottle of Aspirin and then slit my arms from wrist to elbow." Vaguely he wondered at the fact that it was so easy to talk about now, when telling Wes and David just last year had been so hard. Maybe he just didn't care enough anymore. After all, Kurt knew, what harm was there in telling Finn?

The boy in question looked distinctly green. "Why…?"

"Because my life sucked," said Blaine bluntly.

There was an awkward silence.

"What are you going to do now?" said Wes finally.

Blaine shrugged. "What can I do? Kurt hates me."

"He doesn't hate you."

"You could have fooled me."

"He's just upset," said David. _Well, that's an understatement_, thought Finn. "And to be fair, he shouldn't have gone through your stuff."

"No," said Blaine, "he shouldn't have. But he did."

"And his expectations of you weren't very realistic," said Wes.

Finn nodded in agreement.

"And what did I ever do to discourage them?"

None of the other boys had an answer to that.

"You should come back to school," said David finally. "Try to talk to him."

"And why in the world would he want to talk to me?" said Blaine.

"I could try to—"

"No, Finn," said Blaine. "Don't ruin your relationship with your brother because of me."

"Blaine," said Wes suddenly. "Let me see your arms. Now."

"What?" said Blaine, thrown by the sudden change of topic.

"Arms."

Reluctantly, Blaine extended his arms toward his friend.

Finn's eyes widened and Wes's and David's narrowed as they took in the fresh horizontal cut across the tanned skin. Finn drew his breath in sharply.

"Blaine," said David, "you promised."

"I know, I just—"

"No 'just,' Blaine, you promised."

"It was right there. I couldn't help it."

"We told you if you didn't stop we'd take you to a therapist," said Wes. "We mean it, we'll tell someone. Get you help."

"No!" said Blaine. "No. I did stop. It won't happen again. I swear."

"It had better not," said David.

Blaine starred helplessly at his three friends and echoed Wes's question back at them. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"You could start by telling us who Brian is," said David quietly, holding up a photo Blaine had missed in his hasty cleanup.

Blaine's face lost its color so fast the other three were afraid he would faint. Brian. His last secret. His deepest shame. The thing even Wes and David didn't know about. He looked at the three faces watching him—he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Blaine bit his lip so hard it bled, the pain clearing his head slightly from the onset of panic, and made a split-second decision. After all, what more did he have to lose?

**AN: As I said, confusion. I know what's going through their minds right now (even if they don't even quite know it yet), and you will know eventually, but right now there is kind of general angst and confusion. No, Mama Carole is not going to step in and intervene on this one. They're going to have to figure it out more or less on their own. Everything has kind of been leading up to this conflict, so…**

**I will be working at camp with very limited computer & internet access for the next 8 weeks, but I will try my very hardest to keep up with my fics. It might even be somewhat easier because, though I will have a lot less free time, I will have fewer distractions during that free time. But don't count on that. In any case, know that I am trying, and have not forgotten about any of my fics. Thanks for your dedication and your patience, guys. And for your reviews, always for those ;)**

**-SQ**


	30. Chapter 30: Brian

**Author's Note: I am so, _so _sorry it has taken me this long. I longhanded the chapter and then forgot I hadn't typed it up & uploaded it. X/ Sorry. Here it is now.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Obviously I didn't invent Kurt, Blaine, Finn, or Wes**

**Chapter Thirty: Brian**

"Brian was my abusive ex-boyfriend."

Wes and David exchanged a look. This was new.

"He went to my old school. We started dating in my freshman year; he was a junior. He was one of those guys who wasn't exactly popular, but who nobody really messed with.

"Some of the other guys had been picking on me, not for being gay, they didn't know that yet, just for being small and awkward. They don't really need much of an excuse."

Finn shook his head. No, they really didn't.

"I had retreated into the bathroom to escape them and clean myself up. I was standing in front of the sink, splashing water onto my face, when I heard the door open behind me.

"Wet and dripping isn't exactly the way you want to face a possible tormenter, but keeping my back to him was worse, so I turned around, wiping water out of my eyes. Brian was standing in the doorway, looking down at me. Yes, I was short even then."

"_Blaine, right? I'm Brian."_

_Blaine nodded, eyeing him warily through the shimmer of water on his eyelashes._

"_I'm not going to eat you," he said, chuckling slightly. "I just wanted to talk to you. You're gay, right?"_

_Blaine didn't know how to respond. No one had ever asked him that before. He knew he was gay, but he had been under the impression that he was the only one who knew. And now here was this big, intense junior calmly asking him if he was, in fact, gay. As if it were common knowledge._

"_Uh…"_

_Brian laughed. He had a nice laugh. "That would be a yes." He leaned against the doorframe, regarding Blaine with his hands in his pockets. "You haven't told anyone, right? No one else knows?"_

_Blaine shook his head mutely._

_Brian nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Smart boy. Keep it that way. I bet you're wondering how I know."_

_Blaine nodded, still silent._

"_I have my ways," Brian said mysteriously. "And I've had my eye on you."_

"_Why?"_

_Brian smirked. "Haven't you guessed by now?" He crossed the room, getting into Blaine's personal space, and trailed his finger down his chest. "You're cute."_

_Blaine swallowed, his head reeling. He wanted to take a step back, to move away from the older boy, but the cold porcelain of the sink was behind him, digging into his spine. Then what Brian had actually said processed in Blaine's mind. "You…uh…what?"_

"_Are you deaf or retarded or something?" said Brian, and a hint of what was to come crept into his voice. "I said I think you're cute." He pressed himself even closer. "Do you want to be my boyfriend, Blaine Anderson?"  
><em>

"_Uh….you're gay?" Blaine blurted._

_Brian rolled his eyes. "We have a genius on our hands. No, I'm a straight guy asking another guy to be my boyfriend. Duh."_

"Needless to say, I agreed. Not that I felt entirely comfortable with Brian, but was I really going to turn down the opportunity to have a boyfriend? And a hot, older boyfriend at that. Also, as I soon found out, Brian was a very good kisser."

"Is that relevant?" asked Finn a bit uncomfortably.

Wes elbowed him. "Go on, Blaine."

Blaine shrugged. "He became my boyfriend. It was pretty good at first. He was a good kisser, and knew a _lot _about being gay, and sexual stuff in general. A little too much, actually. And being with him was exciting, because he insisted on keeping our relationship a secret. But pretty soon the secrecy began wearing on my nerves, making me jumpy and nervous. And the more nervous I got, the snappier and more heavy-handed Brian became. He started doling out punishments when I 'slipped up' and taking his temper out on me. He also wanted to go farther and faster than I was ready for, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. I knew on some level that it was sliding into abuse, but the idea of being alone had become a scarier concept than being with Brian, no matter how he acted. After all, with my dad it wasn't like I wasn't used to it."

"How did you get out of it?" asked David quietly.

"I didn't, at least not in the way you're thinking. Remember the dance I told you about? The one where I got beat up? I wanted to go with Brian, but he wouldn't go with me, slammed me against the wall and told me I was being retarded when I asked him. The he made me apologize to him by giving him a blowjob.

"I really wanted to go to the dance, though, so I asked another guy I knew was gay, who, unbeknownst to Brian, had known I was gay for a while. We went together, just as friends, and, well, you know what happened. This gang of guys showed up and pummeled us. Brian was one of them. He told me I was a cheater and a liar and a dirty pervert. The next day he outted me to my parents."

"What did they say?"

"My mother cried, my father raged, and my brother, who had just gotten home from college, just shook his head and asked me how I could do this to them. That might have been the most painful; we hadn't seen much of each other since he had gone away to college, but when we were younger we had been really close. That night I went up to my room, took most of a bottle of ibuprofen, and slit my arms from wrist to elbow."

Wes and David nodded; they knew this part.

"My brother found me. My parents rushed me to the hospital. There was a lot of resentment all around. I didn't go back to school for the rest of that year—it was only three more weeks anyway—and the next year I transferred to Dalton."

"At least your parents didn't make you go back," said Finn. "They agreed to pay for Dalton."

Blaine snorted mirthlessly. "Money isn't an issue for my family. And they only 'let' me transfer because the principal of my old school more or less kicked me out. Apparently I was a 'problem student' who was a 'bad influence' and caused 'disruptions' to the student body. Sending me to Dalton was half punishment, half getting me out of the way.

Wes grinned. "Some punishment."

Blaine nodded his acknowledgment. "The one good thing that came out of that mess." Blaine rubbed his eyes. "I shouldn't have tried to have another boyfriend when I was still so messed up from my last one. And lying to him definitely made my relationship with Kurt_ so _much better."

"Hey, stop, Kurt is not the issue right now. This is about you." David tilted his head to look into Blaine's face. "Thank you for telling us, Blaine."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"We wish you had," said Wes. "But we understand why you didn't."

"Either way, there's nothing we can to about it now," said David. "How are you feeling?"

Blaine shrugged. "A little better."

"Glad you let us in?" Wes teased gently.

Blaine wasn't quite up to smiling, but he nodded slightly. "You guys are so stubborn."

"That's why you love us," said Wes, batting his eyes comically. Both David and Finn laughed.

"We're staying the night, by the way," said Wes.

"We are?" said Finn.

"Yep."

Blaine opened his mouth and then closed it again. What was the use? Besides, he didn't really feel like arguing, and he might actually appreciate the company. Instead he said tiredly, "Wes, David, you know where the sleeping bags are. Don't wake up my parents."

**AN: And now we know that. I hope my mistake in updating doesn't discourage you from reviewing.**

**-SQ**


	31. Chapter 31: The Biggest Star

**Author's Note: Argh! I managed to leave my notebook at home when I came to school, so I had to wait for my mom to send it before I could write this, and she was typically slow in sending it since it wasn't "essential." Whatever. Here is the chapter now, sorry about the wait :(**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Come now, I had Kurt and Blaine have their fight long before we had even heard of episode 4.**

**Chapter Thirty-One: The Biggest Star**

Blaine was back at school on Tuesday. His appearance was enough to convince anyone that he really had been sick the day before, and several teachers asked him if he was sure he didn't need to go home, But he told them he was fine, just a twenty-four-hour bug. He ignored Kurt and Kurt ignored him, and Wes and David knew that the wounds were too fresh to press the issue just yet. At least directly.

"David and I have been talking to some of the members of the McKinley High New Directions," said Wes.

"What?!"

"Fraternizing with the enemy!"

"Unprecedented!"

"We don't need help from them!"

"Outrageous!"

Wes banged his gavel loudly against the podium to reassert his authority. "Order! _Order!_ I know we have not made a habit of communicating with competing glee clubs, but we, the Council, think that maybe we should. Glee isn't just about winning, it's about happiness and expressing yourself, and I think at Dalton our rockstar status has obscured the importance of these aspects of show choir."

"Therefore," said David, "and because we have no major events upcoming in the next few weeks, we have decided to test out a modified version of a method recommended to us by our friends at William McKinley High: Each member who wishes to may submit a song suggestion for which they will sing the leading solo. The selected numbers will be performed a small portion of the group for the rest of the ensemble during our group rehearsals. Rehearsals for these numbers need to be held outside of ensemble time. Please note that the song you submit for review must mean something personal to you or express something important you are feeling right now. You do not need to disclose your reason for picking the song, but your favorite Broadway or Top 40 or hit from this week isn't going to cut it."

The Warblers looked around at each other, intrigued in spite of themselves.

Jeff raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"How many songs will you be choosing?"

"As many as we think merit performance and we have time for," said Thad.

Nick's hand went up next. "Can two people submit a proposal together?"

"Yes," answered David. "As many people as would like to may submit proposals together, provided that the song means something to all of them and they will all receive equal solo time. If your song is selected you may also choose who else will participate in its performance."

"Any more questions?" asked Wes, looking around the room.

Slowly, Blaine's hand went up. "How long do we have to decide whether we want to make a proposal, and can we change our minds once we're chosen?"

All three of the Council members looked at him.

"You have until the end of the week," said Wes. "And no, once your song is chosen you have made a commitment to the group and may not change your mind."

*****BB*****

"Finn, have you been talking to Wes and David?"

"Who and Who?" said Finn in an entirely unconvincing voice.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Wes and David, two-thirds of the Warbler Council, you-know-who's best friends."

"Dude, I didn't know they were friends with Voldemort."

Kurt was not amused. "Finn, today at Warblers rehearsal the Council was spouting some nonsense about having talked to people from New Directions and wanting to try a modified version of Mr. Shue's weekly lessons."

"What's wrong with that?" said Finn, shrugging.

"We're the Warblers!" said Kurt, as though it should be obvious. "We don't _do_ things like that!"

"I thought you'd be excited," said Finn.

"Are you kidding?" said Kurt, raising his eyebrows, "I already have a list of fifteen possible songs _and _their respective choreography!"

*****BB*****

Finn, Wes, and David were doing their best to try and bridge the gap between Kurt and Blaine, but it wasn't easy when the only times the two would even agree to be in the same room together were in class and during Warblers rehearsal.

"Who wants to take a trip the Lima Bean after rehearsal today?" asked Wes. "I hear they have really good mochas."

"Not me," said Blaine. "I have too much work to do."

"No," said Kurt at the same time. "I have to be home to help Carole with dinner."

"Hey Blaine, you wanna come over and play videogames sometime?" asked Finn.

"No."

"Why not?"

"You know why."

The other members of the Warblers and New Directions knew something wasn't right as well, but the Dalton boys for the most part had too much tact to mention it, and all Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina could get out of Kurt was, "He's not the person I thought he was" and, "I don't want to talk about it."

*****BB*****

Kurt was one of the first people to submit his song proposal to the Warbler Council. He was going to sing "I'm the Greatest Star" from _Funny Girl_. Usually Streisand was Rachel's territory, but she had given him permission to use the song for this project. He was going to knock it out of the park. He already had the arrangement written and the entire number choreographed in his head. Now all he had to do was wait for his name to be called.

"As promised, today we are going to announce the songs selected for performance from our member submissions." All attention immediately went to Thad; there was no need for Wes to even use his gavel. "We would like to thank everyone who submitted a suggestion, and we wish that we could accommodate all of your proposals into our repertoire, however, after careful consideration, the Council has chosen four selections to be performed right here in this room one week from today. Please refrain from conversation until all four names have been called. We will dismiss this rehearsal fifteen minutes early so the soloists can talk to the other ensemble members they wish to participate in their number and decide upon rehearsals. David, if you would do the honors."

David nodded. "The first song we have chosen will be 'Declaration' by David Cook, sung by James Clark." There was a polite round of applause. "Our second song selection," continued David, "Jason Mraz's 'The Geek in the Pink," will be sung by Nick Duval and Jeff Sterling." More clapping. "Ethan Moore will be singing 'God's Will' by Martina McBride. And," David waited until the applause for Ethan had died away, "our final choice is Blaine Anderson, who will be singing a song which he would prefer not to be disclosed to the rest of the group before he performs it. Soloists, please decide on who you would like to perform with you in your numbers."

The group broke, and Kurt made his way up to the Council's podiums

"Why did you pick Blaine to sing and not me?"

Wes looked at him. "We could not select everyone's submission."

"But why him and not me? Is it because he's your friend?"

"You're our friend too," said David. "Friendship had nothing to do with it."

"But I'm _excellent_ at that song!" protested Kurt. "I've been preparing all week!"

"I'm sorry, Kurt," said Wes. "But we didn't feel your suggestion really met the criteria we were looking for."

"What do you mean it didn't meet the criteria?" demanded Kurt. "I love that song. I _am_ that song!"

"We were looking for songs that really spoke to something personal and pertinent to the singer's life or current situation. Songs with real meaning. Frankly, I don't see how 'I'm the Greatest Star,' while undeniably a good song, touches any sort of deep emotional issue for you right now."

Kurt huffed. "Shows what you know."

"You are more than welcome to ask to participate in one of the four soloists performances," said Thad.

"I have better things to do," said Kurt, and grabbed his stuff and marched out the door.

Thad looked at the other two Council members. "Somehow I don't think your plan is going very smoothly."

**AN: Yes, yes, I know, Kurt seems like he's being a whiny bitch. Remember that a) this is ½ way through Season 2 Kurt, he still has quite a bit of growing up to do. And b) there's insight into what's going on in his head that I've yet to give.**

**I look forward to your lovely reviews ;)**

**-SQ**


	32. Chapter 32: Kryptonite

**Author's Note: Argh. I really do with I could be quicker with updates, but there was just no way I was going to have time to write in the past couple weeks. I only have time now because I'm in tech for a play I'm crewing on and I have the exciting job of running the follow spot. There are three scenes which use the follow spot. Yeah. A lot more downtime than I thought, and I didn't bring all of my homework to rehearsal today. So when I finished the homework I had brought I moved on to this. I know it's not long and I apologize, but I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I haven't even seen the past 2 episodes yet, let alone own the thing.**

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Kryptonite**

David called Finn as soon as Warblers rehearsal let out, so he wasn't as alarmed as he might have been when Kurt came bursting through the front door and threw himself onto the sofa, sobbing.

"You didn't get it?" asked Finn.

Kurt shook his head.

"That sucks, I'm sorry."

Kurt nodded.

"You'll have other solos."

Kurt grunted.

"Are you're really this upset about it?"

After a second of hesitation Kurt shook his head again.

Finn sat down next to him."Then what are you so upset about?"

Silence.

"Kurt?"

The smaller boy mumbled something unintelligible into the cushions.

"Blaine?"

This time, reluctantly, Kurt nodded.

"Well, you could just talk to—"

"How, Finn?" said Kurt, lifting his head and looking up at his stepbrother. "How do you _just talk_ to someone about something like that? I don't know what to do, I don't know what to say…and now he's got one of the solo spots and I don't. Why does Blaine always _fucking_ get the solos?"

"What's he singing?" asked Finn, for lack of anything better to say.

"I don't know," said Kurt sullenly, "it's a surprise."

"Maybe he's singing something for you," said Finn encouragingly.

Kurt snorted. "I doubt it. I looked through his private stuff, shouted at him, and then drove away. We haven't spoken in weeks. I'm not even sure if we're still together."

"Do you want to be?"

"I don't know," said Kurt after another minute of silence. "Does he still want to be? Did he ever really want to be?"

"Do you miss him?"

"I miss who I thought he was," said Kurt, rolling over onto his back and putting his head on Finn's knee. "Now I'm kind of…scared."

"Of him or for him?"

"I don't know. Both."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to him?"

"Yes—no… Not yet. I'd just fuck things up even more."

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

"About this? No. The last thing I need is you and him talking about me behind my back."

Finn decided not to mention the fact that they had already kind of done that. "So...You wanna talk about something else now?"

"Yeah."

*****BB*****

Kurt got over his "solo or no show" attitude pretty quickly, but by then it was too late to be put into one of the soloists' performances. So it was purely as an audience member that he arrived in Warblers rehearsal on the day of the performances and took his seat. He had briefly considered not showing up at all, but that would have been petty, even for him, and he was actually kind of looking forward to seeing the others' performances.

"Yeah you are!"

"The biggest geeks!"

"You rock that pink!"

Nick and Jeff and their five backup singers smiled and bowed to the rest of the members of the choir.

"Thank you, Nick, Jeff." said Thad, motioning for the performers to take their seats. "Now, would Blaine Anderson and those performing with him please take the stage? Well, room."

Blaine swallowed. More than half of him very much wanted to turn tail and run. But he couldn'tl Wes and David had made that abundantly clear. So short of throwing up or fainting or having a heart attack he was stuck here. Performing this song in front of the rest of the Dalton Warblers. And Kurt. Although the first two option weren't really out of the realm of possibility...

"Whenever you're ready, Blaine," said David, who along with Wes had taken up his position in front of his podium to sing Blaine's backup. Blaine realized that his feet had taken him to the front of the room without him realizing it.

He nodded to his best friends and they started in on the backbeat and harmony.

"_I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind_

_I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time_

_But I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon_

_I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah._

_I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon_

_After all I knew it had to be something to do with you_

_I don't really mind what happens now and then_

_As long as you'll be my friend in the end_

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?_

_If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand?_

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might_

_Kryptonite_

_You called me strong, you called me weak_

_But still your secrets I will keep_

_You took for granted all the times I never let you down_

_You stumbled in and bumped your head_

_If not for me then you'd be dead_

_I picked you up and put you back on solid ground_

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?_

_If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand?_

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might_

_Kryptonite_

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?_

_If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand?_

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might_

_Kryptonite_

_Yeah!"_

Blaine did not so much as glace at Kurt the entire time he was singing, but the younger boy had no doubt that the song was meant for him. _If I go crazy will you still call me Supterman? I picked you up and put you back on solid ground? _Yeah, definitely for him.He had never heard Blaine's voice so full of pure, raw emotion and it terrified him.

Obviously the performance had had an impact on the rest of the Warblers too. The boys stared at Blaine for several seconds before slowly breaking into applause which grew in volume and enthusiasm,

Kurt did not clap. He didn't look at Blaine. He was afraid that if he did he would start crying. Or screaming. He was afraid that he wouldn't see the Blaine that he knew. Or that he would. Would he see desperation in Blaine's eyes? Or rejection? He didn't know which would hurt more. He didn't know if he had the courage to find out.

*****BB*****

"You girls stay here, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Tina. "It's getting dark."

"Yes," said Kurt. "Really. I don't want to interrupt your shopping just because I have to be home for dinner. It's just to the parking lot. And it'll give me time to think without anyone yammering in my ear." He smiled at his friends

The girls rolled their eyes but nodded and said their goodbyes to Kurt. He headed out of the mall toward his car, thinking and humming softly to himself.

"_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman…?"_

"You look more like Tinkerbell to me."

Kurt's head jerked up. A man stood in front of him. Big, blond, maybe twenty-two or twenty-three. He had obviously had more than a couple drinks and was leering at Kurt in a very discomfiting manner.

"You wanna show me your fairy wand?"

"Em, no thanks," said Kurt, attempting to side-step the guy. "I just want to get to my car—"

"Awww, the pixie boy wants to get to his pixie car. Well that's just tough luck for him, isn't it?"

At first Kurt thought the man was talking to himself, then he noticed the second guy in the shadows.

That was when he realized how much trouble he was in.

**AN: I was super excited to get to this chapter because Blaine singing this song was one of the things that gave me the original idea for this story. Now I'd better post this before my laptop dies. There's no plug within my reach :/**

**-SQ**


	33. Chapter 33: Attacked

**Author's Note: I am so, so sorry that this has taken me so very long to get up. I had finals and then I got home for break and I tried, I really did, but I just could not focus on the story. I'd write a line or two and then find myself doing something completely unrelated, and I'd try to go back to the chapter, and there was just nothing in my head to be written. I did finally get it done, and here it is. It's not very long, but it is something.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Obviously this is not the TV show, and I am not the creator of said TV show. I like it though ;)**

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Attacked**

Finn and Blaine were walking back to Blaine's car when they heard it. Blaine had been helping Finn shop for a birthday gift for Rachel, but after four hours of searching they still hadn't found anything that Finn thought was up to his girlfriend's high standards. The two teens were halfway across the mall parking lot when the sound of raised voices reached their ears.

"You wanna show me your fairy wand?"

There was a response that was too low to hear.

"Awww, the pixie boy wants to get to his pixie car," said the first voice, "Well that's just tough luck for him, isn't it?"

Blaine and Finn looked at each other. It sounded like someone was in trouble.

"Should we…?"

There was a thud and a scream, quickly muffled.

"Ow! The little punk bit me!"

"Help! _Help!_ Somebody he—mph!"

Finn's and Blaine's eyes widened in shock and horror.

"That…" said Blaine in a horrified whisper.

"…was Kurt," finished Finn, his face going white.

The two boys sprinted the length of the parking lot toward the sound of thumps and Kurt's muffled screams.

"Hey!" shouted Finn as they skidded past a couple of Priuses. "Hey! You! Bastards! Let him go! Get your hands off him!"

Blaine didn't bother with words. He narrowed in on the thug holding Kurt, focusing all of his bodyweight and momentum in his right shoulder.

He barreled into the larger man like a bullet shot from a gun, knocking him sideways into a parked car with a force much greater than his size. The alarm went off, filling Blaine's ears with its high-pitched wailing. His head hit the front bumper, knocking him unconscious for several seconds.

Finn was currently wrestling the second man away from Kurt. They were fairly evenly matched, but Finn was sober and Kurt's attacker was drunk; the man tripped over his own two feet, falling backward and hitting his head on the pavement. For a moment Finn thought the guy had been knocked out, but then he was on his feet again and running in the opposite direction. Finn didn't chase after him.

"Call 911!" he shouted at Blaine, dropping to his knees beside Kurt, who was curled up in the fetal position on the asphalt; Finn couldn't tell if he was conscious or not. "Blaine! _Call 911!_"

Blaine blinked, the red haze lifting slightly from his vision. The second man was gone. He fumbled for his phone with bloody, swollen fingers, though whether the blood was his or Kurt's assailant's he was unsure.

"_911, what is your emergency?"_

"My boyfriend's been attacked. We're in the parking lot behind the Lima Mall. Please hurry, he's bleeding. I think he's unconscious."

"_Alright miss, someone is on their way. I'm going to have to ask you a few questions…"_

*****BB*****

The ambulance and police cars arrived ten minutes later. The paramedics jumped out of the back and immediately began assessing Kurt's condition while the officers questioned Blaine and Finn about the assailants.

"Where is the girl?" asked one of the officers.

"What girl?" said Finn blankly.

"The girl who called. The dispatcher said she was the victim's girlfriend."

"It was me," said Blaine. "I'm the one who called."

The officer gave him a funny look before going back to his questions.

"What are your names?"

"Blaine Anderson."

"Finn Hudson."

"The name of the victim?"

"Kurt Hummel."

"Your relationships to the victim?"

"He's my stepbrother," said Finn.

"And I'm his boyfriend."

There was a barely perceptible pause, then the officer continued. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Blaine and I were coming back from the mall when we hear voices—"

"What were they saying?"

"They were threatening him," said Blaine, "saying stuff like how they weren't going to let Kurt get to his car."

"And how did you know it was Kurt? Did you see him?"

"No at first, no," said Finn. "We heard him scream."

"And then what did you do?"

"We ran to him and got those guys the hell away from him," said Blaine, who was growing tired of these questions.

"How many guys were there?"

"Two."

"What did they look like?" asked the officer.

"Big," said Finn. "One was blonde and the other had brown hair I think. I didn't get a good look at them."

"The blonde one had wide features," said Blaine, remembering how his fist had felt connecting with the man's nose.

"How old were they?"

"Early twenties maybe."

"We're going to examine the scene," said the other officer. "Chad here will escort the two of you to the hospital."

Finn and Blaine followed the first officer numbly.

"Is…is Kurt gonna be okay?" asked Finn.

"Are you going to catch the bastards who attacked him?" said Blaine.

"We can't tell you anything definitive at the moment," said the officer.

"Why the fuck not! ?" screamed Blaine.

"Blaine, Blaine, calm down," said Finn, putting his hand on the older boy's arm. "They don't know yet, he doesn't know any more than we do."

Blaine took a shaky breath and nodded, muttering an apology to the police officer, who told him not to mention. The two boys followed the him to the patrol car, unconsciously moving closer together for comfort.

The ride to the hospital passed in silence; Finn couldn't even bring himself to vaguely appreciate the fact that he was riding in a cop car. When they arrived Finn and Kurt's parents were already there.

"He's going to be alright," said Carole, hugging both of the boys in turn. "You boys got there before they were able to do any critical damage." She hugged them again.

Blaine shifted away from the woman's embrace, uncomfortable with the show of affection.

"Where's Burt?" asked Finn.

"He's with Kurt," said Carole. "They're only letting one visitor at a time until he wakes up."

"And when will that be?"

"They don't know, Honey," said Carole.

"Will it be today?" demanded Finn. "Tomorrow? Next week? _When?_"

"Hopefully sometime tomorrow. They suggested we go home tonight and come back in the morning."

Finn nodded, but none of them moved.

"You should call your parents, Blaine, let them know where you are."

"They won't care."

"Please, Blaine, call your parents. I don't want another woman worrying about her son tonight."

Reluctantly, Blaine went into the hallway and called his parents, leaving a message on the machine saying he was staying the night with Finn and Kurt and didn't know when he'd be home. His dad would beat him up when he got home, but he didn't care. He'd stay long enough to make sure Kurt was okay and then go home and take what was coming to him, and maybe if he was feeling mad enough he'd give some of what he got.

After the boys had their injuries, seen to, all of them minor, the three of them spent the night in the waiting room, Carole keeping a watch of sorts as the boys dozed on and off on each other's shoulders. Around eight in the morning a woman came in with a plate of croissants and a pot of coffee. Carole shook Finn and Blaine awake and they ate without tasting.

_This coffee is terrible_, thought Blaine, bringing the cup to his lips again. _Kurt would dump it down the toilet._ He took another sip.

At noon the three of them trooped down to the cafeteria and Carole bought them lunch. Which they barely touched.

At two-thirty, just when Finn was nodding off against Blaine's shoulder once more, a doctor entered the waiting room.

"Carole and Finn Hudson?"

The three of them looked toward the doctor.

"That's us," said Carole after a second of silence.

"Kurt Hummel is awake."

**AN: I know, I know, it's still kind of a cliffy. I can't make any promises as to when my next update will be, but it will happen, when I can make it. Thank you so much for reading.**

**-SQ**


	34. Chapter 34: Traumatized

**Author's Note: Wow. It has been way too long. I am doing my best, really I am, but I've been really busy trying to balance everything in my schedule, and then when I do get some free time, often I can't bring myself to use it to work on fanfiction because my brain just needs a break. Thanks for being patient.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Please, **_**Glee**_** is in Season 4 and this story is still in Season 2**

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Traumatized**

Blaine rose to follow Carole and Finn to Kurt's room, but the doctor barred his way.

"I'm sorry," he said, not unkindly, "family members only."

"Blaine's practically part of the family," protested Finn. "And Kurt would want to see him."

"Actually, I'm not so sure that he would, Finn," said Blaine. "We haven't exactly been on the best of terms lately. It's probably better if just you two go."

Carole nodded, not surprised to have her suspicions about Blaine and her stepson's falling out confirmed. Her questions could wait though. "We'll tell you how he is, sweetie."

Finn looked as though he wanted to protest—honestly he had had a secret romantic idea of Blaine rushing in to Kurt's bedside and the two tearfully making up and everything being okay again—but Blaine shook his head and the doctor ushered Finn and Carole down the hallway and into Kurt's room.

The boy was lying in the sterile white hospital bed, propped up by pillows. The right side of his face was swollen and puffy, his right arm was in a cast, and there were stitches in his lip and a bandage around his head, but he was awake and alert.

"Hi, Kurt," said Carole tearfully, sitting in the chair beside his bed and taking his uninjured hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Numb from the pain killers," said Kurt, his voice thick through the stitches and the swelling. "Where's my dad?"

"I'm right here, kiddo," said Burt.

"Stay where I can see you."

Burt pulled his chair into Kurt's line of vision.

"Did they catch them?" he asked Carole. "The bastards who did this to him?"

"Not yet," said Carole sadly, "but they're working on it."

"So they're still out there." Burt's fists clenched and a muscle throbbed in his neck.

"It will be easier to find them once Kurt can give the police whatever information he remembers about the attack," said Carole.

Kurt shook his head. "I don't. I don't remember."

"Kurt—"

"I don't remember anything!"

"Sometimes these things take time—"

"I don't _want_ to remember it!" He started crying.

Shhhhh," said Carole, and she and Burt both wrapped their arms around him gently. "You're going to be okay, Kurt. You're safe now."

Kurt hiccoughed, his swollen face buried in his dad's shoulder. "Make Finn go away," he mumbled. "I don't want him here."

"What?" said Finn, feeling hurt. "Why not? Kurt I just wanted to make sure you were okay after—"

Carole cut him off with a sharp shake of her head and indicated silently toward the door.

Finn opened his mouth to protest, but his mother nodded more forcefully toward the door and Burt gave him a look that clearly said to listen to him if Finn knew what was good for him. Reluctantly, Finn left the room and returned to Blaine.

"How is he?" asked the other boy immediately.

"I dunno," said Finn, rubbing his mouth. "He's pretty banged up. Broken arm and stitches on his lip and a bandage on his head and his face is all swollen. When Burt brought up what happened he started crying and said he wanted me to leave the room." His fists had clenched unconsciously. He wanted to be able to _do _something.

Blaine obviously shared this sentiment.

"Is there anything we can do? Did he say anything else?"

Finn shook his head. "Just that he didn't remember what happened and he doesn't want to remember." He sat down heavily in the chair next to Blaine. "What if it like, you know, messed with his mind?"

Blaine shuddered. "Don't even say that."

"I know it happens to football guys sometimes, when they get hit really hard in the head. Do you think those guys hit him hard enough to—?"

"Kurt is going to be _fine_!" said Blaine. He was on his feet. "I need some air."

Finn looked after him and then buried his head in his hands.

*****BB*****

"Blaine, kid, let Carole take you home."

Blaine shook his head. "I want to stay."

"You want to sleep in the hospital waiting room again? Be reasonable."

"I don't want to go home."

"Blaine—"

"I want to know he's okay."

"He's going to be fine," said Carole gently. "The injuries look worse than they are."

"I don't mean just physically," said Blaine, his throat constricting. "I mean…"

Carole nodded. "He just needs some time. He's been through a very scary experience."

"Traumatizing," said Blaine.

"Excuse me?" said Burt.

"Traumatizing," Blaine repeated. "It's traumatizing. When they come at you, calling your horrible things, and all you want to do is run, get away, but they're bigger than you and they won't let you get away. It changes you, when that happens. You're not the same person." His voice broke. "I don't want Kurt to be a different person."

"Blaine," said Carole gently, "did something like this happen to you?"

Blaine swallowed. "Something like it," he mumbled, not looking at her. Suddenly he couldn't bear the compassion in Kurt's stepmother's eyes, so different from the cheerful indifference in his own mother's.

"Burt," said Carole decisively. "I'm taking Finn and Blaine home. Blaine, you can call your parents and tell them you're spending another night at our house."

Blaine nodded, mumbling his thanks to the floor. Finn moved closer to the other boy in solidarity.

Carole pursed her lips. There was something going on here that was affecting her boys, and she was determined to figure out what.

*****BB*****

Blaine slept in Kurt's room. At least he tried to sleep. Somehow his recent-victim-of-a-hate-crime-possibly-ex-boyfriend's bedroom was not a particularly relaxing environment.

At three in the morning there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"Blaine, are you awake?"

"Yeah," said Blaine dispiritedly. Finn opened the door. "You couldn't sleep either?" said Blaine.

"No, actually, I just got up to go pee and saw your light on."

"Oh."

Finn hesitated "Are you…okay?"

"Not really said Blaine. A razor's sounding pretty good right now."

"No," said Finn sharply, an edge of panic in his voice. "Blaine, you can't—"

"I wasn't really going to," said Blaine. "And besides, I don't know where you guys keep your razors."

"Blaine, don't _joke_ about that. Especially not with Kurt—"

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry." Blaine sighed. "Being here is his room is kind of messing me up."

"More than you already where?" said Finn without thinking. He clapped a hand over his mouth. "Blaine, I am so sorry, I—"

"No," said Blaine, "it's a valid point." He turned to look at Finn. "In books when shit like this happens it always makes all of the other problems go away. In real life it just makes them worse." He flopped back on his pillows. "Maybe I can stay with Wes or David when your mom kicks me out. I don't want to deal with going home right now."

"She's not going to kick you out, Blaine," said Finn.

"Did you see how she was looking at me?" asked the Warbler. "She knows I'm messed up. She doesn't want me around her boys, and honestly I don't blame her. I was supposed to be Kurt's Knight in Shining Armor."

"No one expected that of you."

"He did."

Finn didn't have an answer for that, so instead he said, "I think you should tell my mom what's up." Blaine gave him an incredulous look. "I'm serious. She's helped me and Kurt with a lot of stuff before."

"This isn't something she can help with," said Blaine flatly.

Finn didn't agree, but he didn't push it. He already had Kurt refusing to see him, he didn't want Blaine upset with him too.

"Do you think you would sleep better in my room?" Finn asked Blaine after a few minutes of silence. "I can stay in here."

Blaine shrugged. He doubted he would be able to sleep either way, but he appreciated the gesture, and Finn looked so hopeful that he said, "Sure. It's worth a shot."

Blaine left to make his way to Finn's room and Finn looked around Kurt's; the bedazzled laptop, the fashion magazines on the desk, the Broadway show posters on the wall... He could see what Blaine meant—this really wasn't going to help him get back to sleep.

**AN: I know, not too much happened here, and my chapters for this story are short, but things will happen, I promise.**


	35. Chapter 35: A Higher Authority

**Author's Note: You know the story by now. I'm super busy. I mean to get to it and I just don't end up having the time. I am sorry and I do try, but it is what it is. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Come on, this looks nothing like canon **_**Glee**_** anymore**

**Chapter Thirty-Five: A Higher Authority**

Blaine pretended to be asleep when Carole came to call him for breakfast. Carole knew he was faking, she hadn't raised her own son for seventeen years without learning a few of their tricks, but she let it go. If the boy didn't want to talk to her she couldn't force him. She continued down the hall to Kurt's room and knocked on the door.

"Finn? Are you in there?"

"Muhguh…"

"Breakfast is ready."

"Coming!

Ah, the magic word.

Finn padded down to the kitchen five minutes later, still in his pajamas. "Have you heard from the hospital?" he asked, stifling a yawn.

"Yes," said Carole, dishing eggs on Finn's plate. "They said that physically he's doing better than expected, but he's still refusing to talk about the attack."

Finn swallowed a mouthful of egg and toast. "But why? I mean I know it was awful and all, but we want to help him."

"I don't know, sweetheart," said Carole. "Only Kurt knows everything that happened, and we're going to have to wait until he's ready to talk. I know it's hard."

Finn scowled down at his plate. "I should have gotten there earlier."

"Finn, there was no way for you to have known."

"I'm never there in time!"

"Shhhhh," said Carole, putting her arms around her son's shaking shoulders. "If you and Blaine hadn't showed up when you did, things could have been a lot worse."

"Where is Blaine?" asked Finn, pulling away from his mother and looking around the room.

"Still asleep," said Carole. "In your bed," she added, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh. Yeah," said Finn. "He was having trouble sleeping in Kurt's room so we switched." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Um, Mom, can I talk to about something?"

"Of course," said Carole. "You can talk to me about anything. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, actually, it's about Blaine." He took a breath. He hadn't _technically_ promised Blaine that he wouldn't tell anyone, though he was pretty sure the promise was implied. But he just didn't feel comfortable keeping this to himself anymore. "I'm worried that he's going to get hurt."

"Get hurt?" said Carole. "Do you think that the guys who attacked Kurt are going to come after you and Blaine."

Finn blinked; the idea hadn't even occurred to him. "No. I hope not."

"But you think that someone is going to hurt him?" prompted Carole.

Finn nodded. "Yes. Or that he's going to hurt himself."

"Hurt himself?" said Carole sharply. "What do you mean by that?"

And then the whole thing came tumbling out; how Blaine's dad hit him, how his mom pretended everything was fine when it obviously wasn't and how he used to be close with his brother but wasn't anymore. How Blaine used to cut himself and had been an abusive relationship and then the guy had outted him and beat him up and he had tried to kill himself. How Kurt had found the box in Blaine's closet and he and Blaine had gotten mad at each other and hadn't spoken since, and how he thought Blaine might try to hurt himself again and the only people who knew and cared were him, Wes, and David.

"And I just—don't know—what to do!"

The fact that Carole had suspected that all was not right in the world of Blaine Anderson did not stop her from being metaphorically winded by the severity of the boy's situation.

She took a deep breath. "Finn," she said slowly, her brain working furiously, "I can't pretend that I know exactly what to do either, but I am sure as hell not letting Blaine go back to that house."

*****BB*****

"Burt, we need to talk."

As Burt hung up his coat, Carol poured them each a glass of water, a sure sign that this was something more serious than an unpaid bill or a forgotten grocery list item.

Burt swallowed back a wave of trepidation. "Is it about Kurt? Did the hospital call?" He had only left thirty minutes ago, but something could have happened in the time it had taken him to drive home.

Carole shook her head and sat down across the table from her husband. "No. It's about Blaine."

"What about him?" said Burt in confusion. Both he and Carole had expressed concerns about the role Blaine played in their sons' lives before, and what may or may not lie behind the boy's overly polire mask, but honestly he had given the kid very little thought since Kurt had been attacked; he had other things on his mind. A sudden though occurred to him. "This doesn't have anything to do with what happened to Kurt does it?" Sure Blaine hadn't been involved…

"No," said Carole, reading Burt's thoughts on his face. "No, it's nothing like that. Blaine and Finn definitely both saved Kurt from something worse happening to him. I think that Blaine genuinely cares for Kurt and would never do anything intentionally to hurt him…"

"But?"

Carole sighed. For having been together such a comparably short time this man knew her very well. "But he is a very troubled boy. His father abuses him—"

"He _what_?"

"His father abuses him," repeated Carol. "Verbally and physically."

"What he _hell_? !"

"Shhhh, Burt, keep your voice down!"

Burt slammed his fist down on the table. "I will never understand how a parent could raise a hand against their own son. You're sure about this?"

Carole nodded.

"He told you this?"

Carole shook her head. "No, Finn did. He said it's been going on ever since Blaine started showing signs that he was gay. And it got a lot worse after his ex-boyfriend outted him."

"I though Kurt was Blaine's first boyfriend," said Burt.

"So did I," said Carole. "Apparently he wasn't. Though it sounds like this relationship wasn't exactly a healthy one."

"An abusive father and an abusive boyfriend?" said Burt. "Jesus, no wonder the kid's messed up. I have half a mind to march right over to that preppy mansion of theirs and give that man a piece of my mind."

Carole nodded again. "Apparently Blaine has a history of acting out, both against others and against himself."

"Yeah, well I don't blame him," said Burt. "Poor kid."

Carole nodded. "Yes, but Burt—"

"But nothing," said her husband. "We're not just going to turn our back on this kid who means so much to our boys."

"No, no of course not—"

"You're damn right of course not," said Burt. "How much of this does Kurt know?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure," said Carole. "Apparently he found out in a rather jarring manner by accident and they haven't really talked since."

"I knew something was off when I didn't see him around here anymore." Burt ran a hand over his bald head. "So he hasn't actually told anyone besides Finn?"

"And his friends from Dalton," said Carole. "David and Wes I believe their names are."

"What is it about kids that make them think they can handle shit like this on their own?" said Burt, pounding the table in frustration. "Just because Blaine's parents are assholes doesn't mean everyone else's are."

"Language, Burt," said Carol half-heartedly. "And I don't know, I really don't. But Finn told me he's afraid that what's happened to Kurt is going to push Blaine to do something dangerous. Burt, Blaine is staying in our house. With my son."

"Did Finn think he was in danger?" asked Burt.

"No," admitted Carole. "He seemed much more worried about Blaine. And Kurt of course. And Blaine and Kurt's relationship."

"Is he into drugs or alcohol?"

"No, no, nothing like that, but I know Blaine has a temper, however perfect Kurt thought he was."

"Hell, I have a temper, said Burt. "Especially when it comes to my sons. Kurt always was a bit of an idealist. I'm not saying Blaine is perfect, but he's helped Kurt through several rough patches. I owe that kid."

"So we're letting him stay here?"

Burt looked at his wife. "He certainly can't go home. Do you have a better idea?"

"No," Carole admitted. "I don't. And you're right, there's no way I'm sending him back to his father, not after what Finn told me. If only Kurt wasn't in the hospital."

"But he is," said Burt. "And he's still refusing to talk about the incident." The frustration was evident in his voice. "It's possible that Blaine could know a way to get through to him; he understands him better than I do."

Carole nodded. "Are you going to talk to him, then?"

"Yes," said Burt, "And then I'm going to pay these private school choir boys a call."

**AN: Finally, right? Blaine seriously needed to have caring adults who could and would actually do something involved a lot sooner.**

**On a completely unrelated note, I got a second piercing in my earlobe! I've been wanting one for a few years now & I was at the mall w/ my roommate & just decided to get it done.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks in advance for reviewing ;)**

**Love you all**

**-SQ**


	36. Chapter 36: Coming Clean

**Author's Note: I am so sorry for the unannounced hiatus. The last couple months of school just got too hectic so I made the decision to leave off writing until the summer. Then I jumped straight into work and found that getting back into my stories was pretty difficult after not having worked with them for two or three months. My updates will still be slower and less regular than any of us would like, I'm sure, but they will keep coming until this story is complete.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed**

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Coming Clean**

"Hey, kiddo, can I come in?"

Blaine lifted his head slightly from Finn's pillow, contemplating whether or not to respond.

"I know you're awake, Blaine. You have thirty seconds to make sure you have clothes on."

Scowling, but realizing that Burt wasn't messing around, Blaine sat up, threw the covers off hims legs, and ran a hand through his messy curls. "I already have clothes on, Mr. Hummel."

"Good," said Burt, opening the door. He went to close it behind him, but upon seeing Blaine's shoulders tense, thought better of it and left it slightly ajar. "As you should be while in either of my sons' beds." He pulled up Finn's desk chair beside the bed and sat down. "How's it going, Blaine?"

Blaine shrugged.

"I heard you've been dealing with some tough stuff."

"Not as tough as Kurt."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Blaine lifted his head to look at Kurt's father. How much did he know? "I don't mean any disrespect, Mr. Hummel, but I don't see that this has anything to do with you."

"And _I_ don't mean any disrespect, Blaine, but that is where you are wrong; because if it has something to do with my son, it automatically has something to do with me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Blaine stubbornly.

"I think you do," said Burt. "You have a better idea than any of us about what Kurt is going through right now. "That Brian kid, your dad—"

Blaine leapt to his feet as though he had been stung. "Leave my father out of this!"

"Blaine," said Burt, "calm down. We want to help you."

"You can't help me!" shouted Blaine. "I was doing fine until everyone stuck their noses into my personal life!"

"From what I can see," said Burt, "your friends haven't done nearly as much nose sticking as they should have, considering you're still living with your parents."

"I am _fine_! Kurt is in the hospital, not me! He's your kid, not me! Worry about him!"

"I am worrying about him!" said Burt, raising his voice. "I'm worrying that the one person who might be able to get through to him won't help him because it involves admitting to his own problems!"

"Mr. Hummel," said Blaine through clenched teeth, "it may have escaped your attention, but Kurt hasn't wanted anything to do with me for the past several weeks. Ever since he found out about my 'own problems,' in fact, so I really think you are barking up the wrong tree here."

"And if I'm not?" said Burt quietly. "If you talking to him would help but you refuse to go? I know I'm grasping at straws here, son, but what else have I got?"

Blaine rubbed his hands over his face and grabbed his jacket off the chair. "Take me to the fucking hospital."

*****BB*****

Blaine was a thrumming ball of nerves by the time he and Burt reached the hospital. Much to the bemusement of the older man, he had insisted upon bringing his guitar. It was more as a kind of security blanket than anything else, but as he ran his fingers over the hard leather of the case, the opening chords of a song began playing in his head, and its relevance to the situation was undeniable. He realized that he had a better chance of communicating what he wanted to say through song than by talking. Probably a better chance of getting Kurt to listen to him too.

In the car Burt had told him about how Finn had gone to Carole and Carole had come to him. At first Blaine had been pissed. He had demanded that Burt turn the car around right then and take him home. But Burt had told him no, he wasn't going home. Not then and not ever, if he and Carole had anything to say about it. Blaine was still digesting this latest development when they arrived at the hospital.

"Kurt?" said Burt, sticking his head into his son's room. "Kurt, buddy, there's someone here to see you."

"I don't want to answer any questions," said Kurt.

"You won't have to answer any questions," said Burt. "It's not that kind of someone."

"Dad, I really don't feel up to visitors."

"You're going to have to have them at some point kid," said Burt. "And now is as good a time as any. People are worried about you." He stepped back and gave Blaine a little push into the room.

Kurt had been expecting Mercedes or Rachel or Tina, perhaps all three of them, or maybe Finn again. Even Wes and David or some of the other Warblers. He had not been expecting Blaine. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. It came out sounding accusatory, though that hadn't been his intention.

"I wanted to see how you were doing. Is that…okay?"

"Um, yeah," said Kurt, pushing himself upright in his bed. "I just didn't expect to see you?" Blaine continued to hover awkwardly in the doorway. "Um…sit down?" For some reason everything both of them said was coming out sounding like a question.

Blaine perched himself gingerly on the edge of the chair. "I'm sorry we didn't get there sooner," he blurted.

"No, no, I'm really lucky you got there at all."

There was a lengthy silence.

"You brought your guitar?" Back to sounding like a question.

"Uh, yeah, it's kind of like a security blanket." Blaine chuckled nervously.

"Oh." Was it Blaine's imagination, or did Kurt's face fall slightly? "I thought maybe you were going to sing for me."

"I can if you want me to," said Blaine. "I mean…I kind of did have a song in mind."

Kurt shrugged. In truth, he very much wanted Blaine to sing for him, but he hardly thought he was in any position with the other boy to request it.

Taking Kurt's silent shrug as a gesture of acquiescence, Blaine removed his guitar from its case and balanced it on his lap. "I've just got to tune it," he mumbled apologetically. "Haven't played it in a bit…" He fiddled with the pegs until the sound was right and then took a deep breath. "I'm not warmed up or anything, but…" he shrugged in an unconscious imitation of Kurt and began.

"_I'm a coward_

_I hide behind all of these delicate lies that I sing_

_But I'm trying to come clean._

"_I'm so lonely_

_Surrounded by people that know me but don't know a thing_

_So I'm trying to come clean._

"_And every relationship I've ever been in_

_Has fallen apart at the seams_

_And I'm just afraid I've been singing about love_

_But I'll never find out what it means._

"_And if I was honest about what the problem is _

_I'd have to admit that it's me_

_I'm just trying to live up to all that you want me to be."_

"_You're _Blaine_, you don't cry!"_

"_You're not perfect, but neither am I."_

"_It's times like these when I have a hard time remembering you're not perfect."_

"_He's usually really cool and collected. He's _Blaine_."_

"_He's not like that."_

"_He _is_ really sweet and compassionate."_

"_Just be aware, okay? No one is perfect."_

_Blaine is perfect_

"_He's not a jerk."_

_I have the best boyfriend in the world._

"_You're wonderful."_

"I'm_ wonderful?"_

"_Yes, you're perfect."_

"_I'm not perfect."  
><em>

"_Yes, you are."_

"_That's what happened. Blaine told me so."_

"_Blaine wouldn't do that. Don't be ridiculous."_

"_Blaine's not lying to me, you are!"_

_Blaine wouldn't lie to him._

"_I'm a liar_

_I sing pretty things but I never quite say what I mean_

_So I'm trying to come clean._

"_I'm so sorry_

_I know that I can't take it back, no I can't change a thing_

_So I'm trying to come clean._

"_And every relationship I've ever been in _

_Has fallen apart at the seams_

_And I'm just afraid I've been singing about love_

_But I'll never find out what it means._

"_And if I was honest about what the problem is_

_I'd have to admit that it's me_

_I'm just trying to live up to all that you want me to be_.

"And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you everything earlier, but I hadn't told _anyone_. I was trying to tough it out and move on and help you and I didn't think you needed all of my baggage to deal with in addition to your own. It really isn't something that's easy to talk about."

"I know," said Kurt. "At least I know better now than I did before. About not wanting to talk about stuff."

"Yeah," said Blaine. "The thing is, Kurt, I _did_ talk about it, after you found my box, with Finn and Wes and David, I kind of had to. And you know what, it helped. And I don't just mean in some wishy-washy physiological way, although there's that too. It actually helped. Because now your dad…your dad says I don't have to go back and live with my parents anymore. He's going to get CPS and the cops involved if he has to, and that scares the shit out of me, but it's out of my hands now and that feels strangely…liberating. Kurt, you've got to talk to the police. Please. You can still me mad at me, I don't care, but you can't let those thugs get away with what they did to you, for making you feel like this. You don't let people walk all over you, Kurt, that's my arena."

Kurt looked at the boy sitting next to him, the boy how had been his prince, his knight in shining armor, and realized that none of that had changed. Blaine was still Blaine, he wasn't perfect and he did cry, but he was still wonderful and sweet and compassionate and not a jerk, and yes, maybe Blain had lied to him some, but not nearly as much as Kurt had lied to himself. And he had been through things that Kurt couldn't even imagine. Blaine had been his Superman for long enough; it was time for Kurt to return the favor.

"Blaine, I am so, so sorry for the way I've treated you these past weeks. I saw that box, realized how far in over my head I was, and just panicked. I was scared of losing you, scared that either your dad would hurt you or you would hurt yourself or that I just didn't know you anymore, that you weren't _my_ Blaine. I had built this ridiculous knight-in-shining armor image of you up in my head and I wasn't ready to let go of it. And I didn't see any of the stuff for long enough to really process… At first when I saw another boy's name in that notebook I thought you'd been cheating on me—"

"What?" said Blaine. "No! Kurt, Brian was way before I even knew you. You're about a million times better boyfriend than he was. "

"So you're not still seeing him?"

"Kurt, he outted me to my dad and beat me up!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. And you…you didn't just date me so you could have a boyfriend?"

"Kurt, I just dated Brian to have a boyfriend, and it was one of the worst decisions I've ever made. I dated you because I fell for you. Hard. Do you have any idea how scary that was for me after my previous experiences?"

"No," said Kurt truthfully, "I don't. And I didn't do a very good job trying to imagine it. Blaine, after you sang _Kryptonite_ at rehearsal, I couldn't get the stupid thing out of my head. I had just made up my mind to find you first thing on Monday and ask you to explain what all that stuff in the box really meant when those creeps jumped me."

"I'll explain now," offered Blaine. "I'll explain anything you want. On one condition."

"What?" said Kurt warily.

"You agree to talk to the police about your attack."

Kurt bit his lip and then nodded slowly. "Alright. I think I can do that."

Blaine smiled slightly. "Oh, I know you can."

**AN: The song is Chase Coy's **_**Coming Clean**_**. I discovered it through Pandora and decided right away that a) I love Chase Coy and b) It was perfect for Blaine for this story. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter in spite of the delay, and that you haven't forgotten how to review in my absence ;)**

**-SQ**


	37. Chapter 37: Roller Coaster

**Author's Note: I post this from a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, en route to Mendoza, where I will be living and studying for the next 4 ½ months. For those of you who have been following me since the beginning or close to it: Yes, again. What can I say, I like the country and it has programs I like. My schedule is undetermined as of yet, but I shall continue to do my utmost to find the time to write.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I would not wish to be anyone personally or professionally involved with the show at this point in time, and my thoughts go out to all of those who are.**

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Roller Coaster**

_Knock knock knock._

"Kurt? Kurt, I'm coming in."

"Shhhh." Kurt put his finger to his lips as his dad opened the door and came into the room; he nodded downwards. Blaine's curly head was pillowed on Kurt's lap, his thick lashes resting softly above his red-tinged cheeks.

Burt's eyebrows lifted. "I take it you two've made up, then?"

"We're getting there," said Kurt, moving a stray curl off of Blaine's forehead. "We both did some really stupid stuff, and we've both been through some real crap, him more than me, for all that I'm the one in the hospital right now. That's not just going to go away, but we'd rather deal with it together than break up, which is really the only other option, since we can't exactly go on being boyfriends who don't talk to each other."

"No," agreed Burt, "that doesn't sound very practical."

"I wish he'd told me sooner," said Kurt. "I still feel hurt that he lied to me, but I do understand why he did. Dad, did you really tell him that he doesn't have to go back home to his parents? That you were going to call CPS on them?"

"I did and I will," said Burt. "No one should treat their child the way that man who calls himself Blaine's father has treated him."

"Where will he go?" asked Kurt, looking down at his sleeping boyfriend.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Burt. "For the time being he's been staying with us."

"Will you adopt him?" asked Kurt.

"I think that might be a little awkward, don't you?" said Burt with a small smile. "No, he's still a minor, but he's old enough to be emancipated, and in less than a year he'll be eighteen and legally an adult."

Kurt nodded absently running his fingers through Blaine's messy curls. "I don't want him to get hurt anymore."

"I know, kiddo, neither do we. Wake him up now and we'll leave and let you get some rest, okay?"

"Okay," said Kurt. "Oh. I…" he swallowed hard. "I'm ready to talk to the police."

Burt's shoulders sagged in relief. "Thank you, kiddo, I'll let them know."

Kurt nodded and shook Blaine's shoulder gently. "Blaine. Blaine, wake up. Blaine. Blaine!"

"Wha—wha—huh?" Blaine sat up with a jolt, his heart hammering.

"Whoa, hey, easy," said Kurt, putting a calming hand on Blaine's back. "It's just me. You fell asleep. It's time to go."

"Oh," said Blaine somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't get much sleep the last couple nights."

"It's okay," said Kurt. He kissed Blaine's cheek. "Go with my dad, I'll see you later."

Blaine nodded, unable to help grinning a bit, and a bit nervously, at his boyfriend. "Yeah, I'll see you later, Kurt."

*****BB*****

"He talked to you? He won't even see me." There was a note of resentment in the boy's voice.

"I think he will now, Finn," said Blaine to the taller boy, who was standing over him. "I can't tell you why he talked to me before anyone else, even though we were fighting. Maybe because I've been through some similar stuff. Maybe because we _were_ fighting, so being able to talk to me again made things at least a little bit better. I don't know. But he's going to be okay now. He's agreed to talk to the police."

"And you?" asked Finn, taking a seat straddling the computer chair which groaned as he leaned forward. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Blaine. "Kurt may not be the only one who has to talk to the police."

"But we already told them everything we know," said Finn, confused.

"Not about that," said Blaine. He took a breath and leaned back against the pillows, the nsaid very fast, "I'm pressing charges against my dad and applying for emancipation. Burt's filing a report with CPS."

Finn looked at him blankly. "CPS?"

"Child Protective Services. A little birdy told him that I have some major daddy issues."

Finn bit his lip. "Sorry man, I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't let that stuff keep happening to you. It wasn't right. And I was scared. You're my friend. I don't want anything to happen to you; I'd feel awful."

"Thank you," said Blaine quietly. "It's a hard pill to swallow, speaking up about this, but if I don't, I'm going to end up losing my boyfriend, my friends, and maybe my life. I've come to realize that that scares me more than facing up to what's happening at home."

"I don't understand," said Finn. "How is stopping the abuse scarier that enduring it?"

"It's hard to explain," said Blaine. "Imagine being on a really bumpy roller coaster. One of those awful old wooden ones that throw you around like a grain sack. Way worse than the bumpiest roller coaster you've ever been on. It isn't fun and it isn't pleasant, and by now you're bruised all over, but you've been going around and around the same track for long enough that it isn't really scary anymore, just highly unpleasant and rather tedious, because you know when all of the bumps are. Occasionally you forget about one, and it takes you by surprise, but for the most part, you know what to expect, which is basically more tedium and pain.

"And then imagine that you pass by the station, and you want to get off the roller coaster, you do, but that involves figuring out how to undo the imposing-looking restraints with your bruised, numb fingers; and the roller coaster won't stop for you to get off, so you'll have to jump and pray that you don't miss the platform. And you don't know what else there is beyond the platform, you don't really know whether it's any better, or whether you'll just end up getting on a different, unknown roller coaster that might be even worse. And the unknown, that's what you're scared of now, because you already live in hell, and the devil you know beats the devil you don't.

"And you tell yourself, it isn't _all _bad. You know some of the other people on the ride. You even like some of them. And the people at the station smile at you as you go by; they don't realize how awful their roller coaster is from your position. So you think it might be better just to stay on this one that you're familiar with, because if something goes wrong when you try to get out, it's going to run you over, and anyway, surely the ride is going to end soon on its own. It can't possibly go on forever, right? And it doesn't really matter if you actually believe that or not, because as long as you pretend to believe it, you have a spark of hope, of _safe_ hope, because you don't have to risk the jump off of the roller coaster.

"And if one day that hope slips, and you catch yourself in the lie, and you don't think you can take one more jolt, you start to think that the chance of making it onto the platform safely if you jump is so slim that maybe you ought to just jump off of the roller coaster right where it is and let it run you over."

Finn blinked at him. "Wow. I don't think I'll ever look at roller coasters the same again."

Blaine chuckled. "Trust me, there's not a real roller coaster in the world that can compare to this. It was just an analogy."

"Yeah, an unpleasant one."

"A walk in the amusement park compared to the real thing."

"I guess. I guess it's easier to get off the roller coaster when the attendants are there to undo the restraints."

Blaine smiled. "Yes, yes it is." He stretched his arms above his head.

"You really think he'll talk to me if I go back and try again tomorrow?"

"I can't guarantee anything," said Blaine. "But yeah, I think he will. He's doing really well physically. Those thugs didn't know a thing about fighting. They hit him in all the wrong places."

"I probably shouldn't be surprised that you know that."

"I'm on the boxing team at Dalton. Actually, I started it. Nothing quite like shredding your knuckles beating your opponent's padding to a pulp to release those pent up emotions." His mouth quirked in an ironic smile. "Besides, it confused the hell out of my dad. On the one hand, he hated me being that close to other sweaty, half-dressed boys, on the other hand, it was the 'manliest' thing I had expressed interest in in years. I neglected to mention to him the fact that I took it up to protect my gay self from homophobic bullies."

Finn rocked the chair forward and back, making it creak.

"You're going to break that," commented Blaine, eyeing him sleepily.

"Nah," said Finn. "I haven't yet." But he turned the chair around so he was sitting in it properly.

Blaine snorted and sat up. "If it breaks, I'll laugh."

"If it breaks, you're buying a new one, Finn," said Carole, coming into the room. "Because I'm not. Are you boys hungry?"

Blaine shrugged, but Finn nodded vigorously.

Carole smiled. "I don't wonder; it's nearly three. Come downstairs and get some lunch. I don't want the dishes to disappear into the black hole of your room, Finn."

"They don't—" Finn began.

Carole picked up a cup that was sitting on his desk. "Mmm hmm… Downstairs."

The two boys trudged downstairs after Carole, who motioned at the fridge and said, "Okay, help yourselves."

"Hey," protested Finn. "You tricked us."

"You're big boys; you can make your own lunches."

Finn made a face, but opened the fridge and pulled out the cheese, bread, and lunch meat. Blaine settled himself down at the table with and apple and some yogurt. Halfway through the yogurt he realized that he was actually hungry after all and got back up to make himself a sandwich as well. He hadn't taken more than two bites of it when his phone started to ring.

He pulled it out of his pocked and warily checked the caller ID. To his relief, the name that popped up on the screen was Wes's, not his father's. He accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"Blaine! Where the hell are you? We've been trying to get ahold of you for days. You, like, disappeared from the face of the planet. Are you okay, man? Did something happen?"

It suddenly dawned on Blaine that both he and Kurt, and he supposed Finn as well, had missed two days of school, during which Blaine hadn't even thought to go online or check his phone. No wonder his friends were freaking out.

"Wes, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch. Something did happen, but I'm fine—"

"What happened? Was it your dad? Did he—did _you_—?"

"Wes, calm down. It was nothing like that, I promise. He didn't do anything. I didn't try anything."

"Then what is it?"

"Maybe he'd tell you if you gave him a chance to get the words out," said David's voice in the background.

"Look, guys. It's kind of…complicated. Are you guys free to come over here and talk about it?"

"Where is here?"

"Lima. I'm at Kurt's house."

"Kurt? So you two are talking again?"

"Yes. Kurt's in the hospital."

"_What! ?"_

"He got jumped on Saturday night. Beat up pretty bad. By pure luck Finn and I showed up in time to stop the worst of it. You remember Finn, Kurt's step brother."

"Duh," said Wes, "we only practically sieged your house together. And of course we'll come over. David, go grab your car."

"Why do I always have to drive?"

"Because when I drive it gives my mom ulcers. And yours too. Go."

"I swear you drive like that just so you won't have to do the driving," said David's retreating voice.

"Whine, whine, whine," said Wes. "Blaine, we'll be there as soon as we can, and you're going to tell us _everything_, you understand?"

"Yes, I will, I promise," said Blaine. "You already know a lot of it, but yes, I promise I'll tell you."

"Good," said Wes. "See you soon."

"Yes, see you soon." Blaine ended the call and looked up to find Burt standing beside the table, looking at him intently.

"Who was that?"

"My friend Wes," said Blaine. He wasn't scared of Burt the way he was of his own father, but Kurt's dad still made him slightly nervous. "He and David, that's my other best friend from Dalton, are going to come over. If that's alright," he added, belatedly realizing that he should have asked permission before inviting his friends to someone else's house. He hadn't even thought about it; Wes and David tended to have that effect on him, and people in general. "If it's not we can go out somewhere, it's fine. They just want to know what's going on with Kurt and stuff."

"They can come here," said Burt. "I've actually been wanting to talk with them."

"Uh, you have?" said Blaine.

Burt nodded, but offered no more on the subject.

Now feeling distinctly nervous, Blaine finished his sandwich and then went upstairs to gel his hair, not because he really cared about Wes and David seeing him without gel—they were among the few who had before—but because it was something to while he waited for them to arrive.

**RIP Corey Monteith**


	38. Chapter 38: In the Loop

**Author's Note: I'm currently waiting for the 7****th**** HP book to be available for check out on my NOOK so I can write the epilogue of my in-progress HP fic, since I couldn't bring the book with me to Argentina. Since I can't work on that fic, I have skipped to this one. Lucky you.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: "…"**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: In the Loop**

_DING-dong! DING-dong! DI—_

"Guys, would you cut it out? I'm coming!" Blaine yanked open the Hudson-Hummels' front door and scowled at Wes and David. The scowl lasted about two seconds before it melted into a grudging smile when he realized how glad he was to see his two best friends.

"Hey you," said Wes, pulling him into a tight hug.

"You look like shit, man," said David, patting Blaine on the back and propelling him and Wes through the doorway and into the house at the same time.

"Gee, thanks," said Blaine, returning the embraces. "I even got all made up for you." He motioned at his gelled hair.

"Awww, you shouldn't have," said Wes, fluttering his eyelashes.

"Oh shut up," said Blaine.

Finn stuck his head out of the living room. "Oh, hey guys. I thought I heard the doorbell ring."

"Yeah, you and the entire rest of the block," said Blaine. "It's like they want your parents to kick me out."

"My parents wouldn't kick you out."

"It was a joke, okay? My humor's kind of rusty."

The four boys went into the living room and sat down on the coach.

"So," said Wes more seriously, "what happened?"

Blaine sighed. "Where do I start?"

"Well, we know everything up until Kurt getting attacked and you disappearing off the map, so let's start with that."

Blaine rubbed his face.

"Take your time man," said David softly, patting Blaine on the shoulder.

Blaine opened his mouth to tell them about hearing Kurt and those guys in the parking lot, but what came out instead was, "Why weren't you guys there for me?"

"What?" Wes and David stared at him blankly.

"We've always been there for you," said David.

"Why didn't you _do_ anything?"

"About what?" said Wes, confused.

"About my dad being an utter dick!"

"What could we have done?"

"You could have told someone what was going on!" Blaine didn't know where the rage had come from, hadn't realized that he had been feeling it until suddenly he could barely stand the sight of his two best friends. He pushed them away, putting as much distance between them and himself as he could within the confines of the couch. "You could have tried to get me out of there!"

"You told us not to!" said Wes, who looked rather shocked at Blaine's outburst. "You made us promise not to tell anyone! We let you stay over at our houses as much as we could—"

"I made you promise not to tell because I was _scared_!" shouted Blaine. "What were you scared of! ?" David jumped back, pulling Wes out of the way of Blaine's oncoming fist.

"Blaine!" Finn grabbed the smaller boy, pinning his arms to his sides. "Blaine. Blaine! This isn't helping!" He realized that the older boy was crying.

Blaine angrily dashed a hand across his eyes. "I needed help! Why didn't they help me! ?"

"We didn't know how bad it was for you, Blaine," said Wes, looking scared. "You never told us… You said things were mostly okay most of the time."

"I tried to kill myself! Does that seem like 'okay' to you?"

"That was before we met you—"

"You went to therapy—"

"They transferred you to Dalton—"

"You seemed happy—"

"But you knew that his dad still abused him," said Burt. All four boys jumped; they hadn't heard him come in. "That gave you a level of responsibility. Burt Hummel, Kurt's dad."

"Mr. Hummel," said David, "we wanted to help Blaine, we really did, but we didn't know how. He made us promise not to tell anyone."

"It was kind of our…leverage," said Wes. "To make sure things didn't get too serious."

"How serious is 'too serious'?"

The boys shrugged.

"Attempting suicide again, I guess," said David.

"Which we were afraid he would do if we told someone what was going on behind his back."

"He trusted us. We didn't want to let him down."

"It seems you failed at that."

"Yeah."

Burt walked over to the couch and motioned for Finn to move out of the way. "Blaine? You alright, kid?"

"No."

"You gonna punch me if I sit next to you?"

"No."

"Good." Burt sat. "Sounds like your friends really do care about you."

Blaine knew they did, but he was still too upset to do anything other than shrug.

"Did you want them to tell anyone, before now?"

"No," admitted Blaine. "I didn't want anyone else to know. I thought I could handle it."

"Seems like you all thought that. Teenagers," Burt shook his head, "think they can handle everything."

"Finn told. He told you and Carole. He didn't think he could handle it on his own."

Wes and David looked at Finn, who gave an uncomfortable half shrug.

"Finn's a smart boy sometimes," said Burt. "He's also a boy who grew up in a very different environment than the three of you. Raised by a single mother who encouraged him to come to her with his problems, instead of in a society where personal problems are supposed to remain hidden behind closed doors."

Blaine, Wes, and David nodded; it was an accurate description of the general upper-class Westerville mindset.

"So, I guess you have two choices, Blaine," said Burt. "You can tell your friends to leave, and we can get on with the business of figuring out your new life without them. Or you can fill them in on what's going on and include them in wherever you're headed now."

Wes and David looked at Blaine, silently begging him not to kick them out.

Blaine gathered himself up. If he couldn't talk about this with his best friends, how in the hell was he going to be able to talk about it with the lawyers and whoever else was about to get involved in this mess? "Yeah…so…um…Friday night…"

*****BB*****

"You're not going home—?"

"—You're leaving Westerville—?"

"—You're calling CPS—?"

"—You're going to press charges against your father—?"

"—Is he going to jail—?"

"—What about your mother—?"

"—Will you go back home—?"

"—Where are you going to live—?"

"—Are you coming back to school—?"

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know," said Blaine. "I really don't know what comes next any more than you guys do." He took a breath. "But yes, we're calling CPS, and yes, I'll probably press charges. And no, I don't think I'll go home. For now I'm staying here, but after that…" he shrugged helplessly. "I just don't know, guys. I do know that I don't want to leave Dalton. I mean, it's second semester of my senior year."

"Is your tuition paid through the end of the year?" asked David.

"Uh…I think so? Why?"

"Because your dad might not want to keep paying it now that you're…" David trailed off.

"Oh," said Blaine. The whole money issue hadn't even crossed his mind. "Oh crap. Oh _shit_. How am I going to pay for school? How am I going to pay for _anything_?" He was close to panicking again.

"Blaine," said Burt firmly. "We will cross that bridge when we come to it."

"I'm sure our parents won't mind chipping in for your tuition if need be," said Wes.

"And you should get some money out of your parents once this whole mess clears the courts," said David, whose father was also a lawyer.

"Yeah," said Blaine glumly. "If my father doesn't decimate whoever's representing me."

"I could see if my father would do it," said David.

"David, our fathers are friends—"

"They make polite conversation at school events; that hardly qualifies them as bosom buddies."

"I don't want to drag you into this—"

"And I don't want to be left out of it."

"We're your best friends, Blaine," said Wes. "We want to help you."

"And this time," said David, "we've learned our lesson and won't take no for an answer."

Burt nodded his head in approval. "That's what I like to hear."

*****BB*****

An hour later the four teenagers were still sprawled out over the living room couch, chatting and catching up and not really watching cartoons.

"Are you boys staying for dinner?" asked Carole, waving her hands to get their attention.

Both Finn and Wes sat bolt upright at the mention of food.

"Sure, I'd love—"

David elbowed Wes in the side. "We don't want to be any trouble."

"It's no trouble," Carole assured them. "Just call your folks to make sure it's okay."

"You say it's no trouble now," said David, as Wes whipped out his phone. "Just wait until you've experienced Wes's appetite."

"If he can outdo Finn and Puck, I'll give him a medal," chuckled Carole.

"Is that a challenge?" said Wes.

David groaned and sank back into the couch cushions. "Please, don't encourage him."

*****BB*****

"I officially declare it a tie," said Carole, clearing away Finn and Wes's empty plates from the table and dumping them into the sink.

"Who knew such a skinny dude could pack so much in?" said Finn, a hand resting on his sated stomach.

"My body is the favorite of all the chicks," said Wes.

Blaine snorted. "More like the envy of all the chicks."

Wes made a face at him. "What would you know? Girls always want what they can't have."

"Which counts you right out," said David.

"Who's going to load the dishwasher?" sang Carole.

"I can do it," said Blaine, standing up.

"Thank you, Blaine. I wish my own boys were half as polite and helpful. Finn, you can unload it later."

"Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Hudson," said David.

"Yeah, thanks," said Wes. "It was delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it," said Carole. "We'd love to have you over here again sometime."

"You can count on it," said Wes enthusiastically.

"With you folks," added Burt. "I'd like to meet them, especially if they are going to be involved with what's going on with Blaine."

Wes and David nodded soberly.

"Yes, of course," said David. "I'll talk to my dad right away."

"Me too," said Wes.

"Will we see you at school tomorrow, Blaine?" asked David.

Blaine hesitated. "Maybe not tomorrow. I think Kurt's gonna talk to the police about the attack. I don't know if he wants me there or not, but I want to be available just in case. Thursday definitely, though, I'll be there."

"See you Thursday, then," said Wes and David.

"Your friends seem like very nice young men," said Carole once the two boys were out of the door.

Blaine nodded. "They are. They're insane, but they're great. I don't know what I would have done without them. They pretty much adopted me when I showed up at Dalton, fresh out of therapy and not knowing a soul."

"In much the same way as you adopted Kurt when he needed someone to turn to," said Burt.

Blaine smiled. "Yeah, it was kinda like that, I guess. Without the whole falling for each other thing. I'm glad I was able to pass on some of what they did for me to him. Though he's done a lot for me too, without realizing it."

Blaine finished loading the dishwasher and then went upstairs to Kurt's bedroom. He figured he'd probably be able to sleep in there now that he knew Kurt was going to be okay and they weren't fighting. He was actually nearly asleep when Finn knocked on the door.

"Huh…?" said Blaine blearily, lifting his head from the pillow.

"Oh, sorry dude, were you asleep?"

"Nearly," said Blaine, sitting up. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were good before I headed to bed," said Finn a bit awkwardly.

Blaine smiled. "Yeah, Finn, I'm good. Thanks."

"No problem," said Finn, smiling back. "Well, goodnight then."

"Yeah, goodnight."

"Should I turn off the light?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

Finn flicked the switch and the light went out once more. "'Night, Blaine."

"Goodnight, Finn."

"He's doing alright?" asked Carole softly as Finn padded past her in the hall on the way to his bedroom.

"Yeah," said Finn. "He's good. I'm glad you're letting him stay. I wasn't so sure about him at first either, but he's actually really cool."

Carole smiled. "I'm sure he is, Finn."

"And he needs a family, since his is pretty much crap."

"Yes," said Carole, more to herself than to her son, "that boy definitely needs some caring guidance in his life."

**AN: Not really much to say. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading. Reviews, please and thank you ;)**

**-SQ**


	39. A Step in the Right Direction

**Author's Note: I am so sorry for the time it took for me to get this up. My life has been a little bit stressful these past couple months. As you know, I'm studying abroad in Argentina, which is great, but a whole different university system and lifestyle to deal with. Additionally, both of my paternal grandparents passed away within a month of each other back in the states, right before I entered the last (and busiest) month of classes here. So fanfiction hasn't exactly been on the forefront of my mind. I will continue to do my very best and write when I can, but honestly my priorities are drifting away from fanfiction and into real life, as is natural and proper for someone of my age and point in life I think. I will finish this fic and the other ones I have in progress. And I will write the sequel to my story Bound with Silver Threads as promised, but in all likelihood my active involvement in the fanfiction world (though NOT in the fandom or writing world by any means) will end there. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and dedication to my work.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Seriously. You all know the drill by now.**

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Step in the Right Direction**

"Blaine, I'm not sure I can do this."

"Yes you can. If I can talk to a lawyer about my dad, you can talk to the police about the attack. Besides, we made a deal. You promised."

"I know…" said Kurt, wringing his hands. "But…"

"It's not up for discussion," said Blaine firmly, rescuing Kurt's designer shirt from his anxious fingers. "Do you want me to say or go?"

"Go…Stay… No, go—no, stay!"

Blaine blinked at his boyfriend's frantically waving hands, waiting for him to give a sensible answer.

"Stay," said Kurt again, more decisively. "I'd like you to stay. Please."

Blaine nodded and sat down in the chair to the left of Kurt; the one to his right was already occupied by Burt. Finn and Carole turned to go, but Kurt stopped them.

"Wait. Finn."

Finn turned around, surprised. "What? Really?"

Kurt made a gesture that was halfway between a nod and a shrug. "You were there too."

"You know we're not going to do the talking for you," Blaine cautioned him.

"I know," said Kurt. "I just…I want you here. I don't want to shut you out anymore. It's easier, but…it's lonely."

Finn gave Kurt a reassuring, lopsided smile and pulled up a fourth chair.

Carole stepped into the hall and then stuck her head back into the interview room. "The officers are waiting for you."

Burt looked at his son. "Well, kiddo, are you ready?"

Kurt swallowed and nodded. "We might was well get this over with so I can forget about it."

Burt nodded at Carole. "Tell them they can come in."

Carole returned her husband's look and nod and stepped out of the room again. A few seconds later two police officers entered. They were the same officers who had arrived at the crime scene after Blaine had called 911.

"Hello, Kurt," said the taller of the two officers as he and his partner sat down across from the three boys and Burt. "I am Officer Chad Bradley. This is my partner Officer Daniel Clip. We want to ask you a few questions about what happened the evening of April sixteenth."

Kurt nodded his eyes fixed on a point just over Officer Bradley's shoulder. Although he was the taller and older of the two police officers, Kurt found him decidedly less intimidating than the shorter, younger, and fitter Officer Clip, who looked more like a GQ model than a police officer.

"Where were you directly preceding the incident on the sixteenth?" asked Office Clip.

"I was at the mall with my friends," said Kurt without shifting his gaze from the wall behind Officer Bradley. "Shopping."

_Surely that can't be relevant_, though Blaine, watching the undeniably attractive police officer make a note on his pad. _I guess they're just warming Kurt up._

"At what time did you leave the mall?" asked Officer Clip, looking at Kurt, although the boy still had his own gaze fixed on the wall.

"The sun was just starting to go down," said Kurt. "So I guess it must have been seven-thirty or eight. Probably closer to eight."

Officer Clip nodded. "Your friend's call came in at twelve past eight. You left the mall and went…?

"To the parking lot for my car," said Kurt, closing his eyes briefly. "That was when…"

"When what, Kurt?" prompted Officer Bradley when Kurt didn't continue.

Kurt pressed his lips together and swallowed hard. Finn put a hand on his shoulder.

"I was singing, not paying attention. I should have been more careful, more alert—"

"This wasn't your fault, Kurt," said Officer Bradley. "Just tell us what happened."

Kurt nodded and looked at his dad for reassurance before continuing. "I heard someone call out. _'You look more like Tinkerbell to me.'_ I looked up and there was this guy there—"

"What did he look like?" said Officer Clip quickly. His partner shot him a look.

"He was big," said Kurt. He didn't have to work very hard to remember; the man's image felt like it was burned into his retinas, no matter how hard he tried to rid himself of it. "Over six foot. And heavy. At least two-hundred pounds I'd say." _Just keep talking, Kurt, it'll be over faster if you just keep talking._ He realized that both his dad and Blaine had taken his hands. He squeezed theirs gratefully and plowed ahead, nearly tripping over his words. "He had blonde hair and a round face. Well, more oval really than round. He was in his early twenties, maybe twenty-two or twenty-three. His nose was big and his mouth was small and thin. He had a weak chin. His cheeks were really red. I think he'd been drinking. His hair was really straight and thin and kind of all over the place. It went down to maybe the nape of his neck. He was wearing a green polo shirt and khaki pants and sandles. Tevas or Keens or something. I think they were red or orange. He had horrible fashion sense," he added, which made both Blaine and officer Clip chuckle.

"What happened after he first spoke to you?" asked Officer Bradley.

"He, um, asked me if I wanted to, um, show him my, um, fairy wand," said Kurt, going bright red. Behind him, Finn made a disgusted face that his step-brother was unable to see. "I tried to get past him, but he blocked me. The paths between the cars are really narrow. Then the other guy came up behind me and grabbed me." Kurt winced and three hands tightened in his and on his shoulder.

"Did you see the second man?"

"Briefly. He had brown hair. Shorter and thicker. And a really ugly mustache. He was big too, but not quite as big as the other one. His face was flatter. I think he may have been part Korean or something. He was wearing a wife beater tanktop and jeans."

"You said he grabbed you from behind," said Officer Clip. "What happened then?"

"I couldn't get away, obviously, he was like three times my size," said Kurt, whose voice had gone up in pitch and down in volume. "I screamed but he put his hand over my mouth. The first guy started trying to undo my belt, but his hands were clumsy because he was drunk. I bit the guy's hand who was holding me and shouted for help. That's when the second guy slammed me against the wall. Then suddenly there were other voices. I guess it was Finn and Blaine; I couldn't see anything. The guy who was holding me let go and I fell. I don't remember anything after that." Kurt looked at his lap, taking deep breaths and trying to stay calm. It was only kind of working.

"Thank you, Kurt," said Officer Bradley gently. "You have provided us with some very useful information. We will be getting back to you. Do you think you could describe the perpetrators to one of our sketch artists?"

Kurt cringed at the idea of having to visualize his attackers again, but said, "I guess I can try."

"That's the right attitude," said Officer Clip. "The more information we have, the more likely it is we'll be able find these guys and bring them in."

"But it's still not very likely, is it?" said Burt bluntly, looking at each of the officers in turn. "I've done my research. Hate crimes like this happen all the time. No one ever does anything about it."

"The Lima Police department tries our best in every case—"

"How many perpetrators of gay hate crimes have you arrested in the past year?" said Burt. "How many were convicted? How many actually went to prison?"

"Dad…"

Officers Bradley and Clip looked uncomfortable.

"It is true that in such cases it is difficult to find and persecute the perpetrator," said Officer Bradley. "There is usually very little hard evidence. But I can assure you that we are doing everything we can to bring your son's attackers to justice."

"Yeah?" said Burt skeptically. "I'll believe it when I see those bastards behind bars."

Apparently out of things to say, the two officers nodded to Kurt, Burt, Finn, and Blaine, and beat a hasty retreat out of the room. Kurt sagged in his chair in relief, letting his head drop into his hands.

"You alright, buddy?" asked Burt.

"I dunno," Kurt mumbled. "I just want it all to be over."

"This was a big step in that direction," said Burt.

"Yeah, Kurt, I'm really proud of you," said Blaine, bending over to kiss his cheek.

Kurt lifted his head and looked at his boyfriend. "Thanks. Though I'm not sure I've really done anything to be proud of."

"Um, sorry to change the subject," said Finn. "But is anyone else hungry?"

Burt sent Finn a "Is this really the time?" look, but Kurt giggled.

"Now that you mention it, I could definitely go for a burger," said Blaine.

"I'm sick of hospital food," said Kurt. "It tastes like cardboard."

"Then let's go out to eat," said Burt. "There's a burger place across the street that's having a two-for-one special on ice cream sundaes."

All three boys' faces lit up at that.

"Burgers _and_ ice cream sundaes?" said Finn.

"Now you're talking," said Kurt.

"What are we waiting for?" said Blaine. "Last one to the elevator has to make the trash can run!"

**AN: Thank you for reading. Thank you even more to those of you who choose to review. If any of you are interested in keeping up with whatever I may do in the future, be it my acting/theatre activities, my writing activities, or whatever else I end up doing in my life, I'm thinking of trying to start and maintain a blog. When I get it set up I can put it on my ffnet profile. I also reply to all of my pms and would be happy to talk to anyone. Obviously there's not requirement for you to be interested in anything beyond my fics, and no requirement for you to even maintain interest in those, but I thought I'd put it out there. Until next time :)**

**-SQ**


	40. Chapter 40: Back to Normal Ish

**Author's Note: I am so, SO sorry for how long this has taken. I just kind of needed to actually take a break over Christmas, after having been abroad all semester and such. Plus I was pretty busy even during my break. And then I got back to school and have been in pretty much constant motion ever since. It's a big mix of school work and work work and extra-curriculars and social life and personal issues and friends' issues that I'm not going to elaborate on in an AN, but the sum of it has been taking up all my time. As ever, I am going to continue the story, but the pace will not be what any of us would wish for. My apologies.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure the think I have most in common with the writers of Glee is taking long hiatuses.**

**Chapter Forty: Back to Normal. Ish.**

"It feels weird going back to school after all of this," said Finn, pouring cornflakes into a bowl and sitting down at the kitchen table.

Blaine slung his messenger bag across his chest and adjusted his blazer. "It feels weird going to school knowing that Kurt won't be there."

"I know the feeling," said Finn. "He comes home tomorrow, though."

"That's also weird."

"What?"

Blaine waved his arm at the kitchen and the house around it. "Thinking of this as home."

"Blaine, if you don't leave now you're going to be late for school," said Carole, rescuing the milk from Finn's elbow.

"I was just leaving, Mrs. Hudson," said Blaine. "See you later, Finn."

Carole watched him leave, shutting the door gently behind him instead of letting it slam like her boys always did. "He already seems less tightly wound than he did when he was living with his parents," said Carole.

"Don't think this battle's over, though," said Burt, coming into the kitchen "Because it's only just begun."

Carole nodded and Finn stared into his cornflakes, wondering when life had gotten this complicated.

*****BB*****

"Blaine, hey!" Blaine was enveloped in a hug by his two best friends.

"How are you?"

"How's Kurt?"

"He's better. I'm okay." Blaine gently shrugged them off, but allowed them to flank him as they walked into the building. "Do, um, people know about…stuff?"

"Your stuff or Kurt's stuff?"

"Either. Both."

"Kurt, yes. You, no."

Blaine breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't ready for all of Dalton to know he was suing his abusive father for emancipation.

Wes patted him on the back. "What, you thought we would blab?"

"No, things just have a way of getting around."

Wes and David nodded emphatically.

*****BB*****

Being back at school wasn't as bad as Blaine had thought it would be. It was actually kind of a relief to have at least one thing more or less the same as it had been before.

"Blaine Anderson."

Blaine raised his head from the paper he was peer editing. Mrs. Clarke was looking at him, the telephone she was still holding to her ear tilted slightly away from her mouth. She beckoned him over to her desk.

Answering his desk-mate's questioning look with a shrug, Blaine stood up and went to the front of the classroom. "Yes?"

"The headmaster would like to see you," said Mrs. Clarke, pitching her voice so it wouldn't carry to the rest of the class.

Blaine blinked at her. "Oh. Um, did he say why?"

The teacher shook her head. "No, but you may be excused from class to respond to his summons."

Feeling both confused and decidedly nervous, Blaine muttered a vague apology to the kid whose paper he had been reading, collected his own, and left the classroom, trying to ignore the fifteen pairs of eyes that followed him out of the door.

What is hell's name did the headmaster want to see him for…?

*tap tap tap*

"Come in."

Blaine pushed open the heavy oak door a bit hesitantly.

"Ah, Master Anderson. How are you today?"

"Um, I'm fine, sir," said Blaine, looking around the room. He had only been in the Headmaster's office a handful of times before, and it never failed to impress him.

"I am glad to hear it." The Headmaster nodded to the chair on the other side of his desk. "Have a seat, Master Anderson."

Blaine sat. "May I ask why I'm here, sir?"

The Headmaster surveyed him across the polished surface of the desk.

"I had a call from your father today." Oh. Crap. No, scratch that. Oh fuck.

"Wwhat did he say?"

"He wanted to be informed of your whereabouts." Blaine opened his mouth. "I told him that you were currently in English class."

Blaine blinked. "Um, okay."

"He demanded that you be sent home immediately after school." Blaine swallowed. "I told him that I didn't have the authorization to do that."

"Uh, don't you?" said Blaine.

The Headmaster shook his head. "I do not. In fact, I have very good reasons _not_ to do that. You see, fifteen minutes before your father called, I received another call. From Mr. Hummel. Blaine," said the Headmaster seriously, "do you have a lawyer yet?" Blaine shook his head mutely. "I would suggest that you get one. In the meantime, your father is prohibited from setting foot on the Dalton campus."

Blaine gaped at the Headmaster. "You can do that?"

"This is a private school, Master Anderson; you would be surprised at what I can do. You may return to class."

It was a few seconds before the dismissal sunk in. When it did, Blaine gave a quick nod, got to his feet, left the office, and breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang, signaling the end of the period.

*****BB*****

"Finn, hey!"

"Welcome back!"

"You didn't tell us you were coming back to school today."

"Is Kurt really in the hospital?"

"Is he okay?"

"Did they find the guys that attacked him?"

"What exactly happened?"

"Maybe if you stopped throwing questions at him, Finn would actually have time to answer some of them," said Mr. Shue, waving his students away from the hulking quarterback and back toward their seats. He turned toward the boy in question. "It's good to have you back, Finn."

"It's good to be back," said Finn truthfully, smiling at his friends. "It's been a rough few days. A rough few weeks, actually. But Kurt's doing a lot better. He was jumped in the mall parking lot on Saturday. By some drunk, homophobic thugs. They beat him up pretty bad, but there's no permanent damage. I think he was more shaken than anything. I mean, besides getting knocked out and beat up and stuff. Luckily Blaine and I got there and pulled them off him. They haven't found the guys who did it yet, but Blaine convinced Kurt to talk to the police, so hopefully…"

"Blaine and Kurt are talking again?" asked Mercedes. "I thought Kurt was super pissed at him."

"Well, yeah, he was," said Finn. "But then Burt pretty much forced him to go to the hospital and talk to Kurt. Kurt had been wanting to talk to him for a while, he just didn't know how. Or think Blaine would want to talk to him."

"That's not what he told me."

"Yeah, well, he doesn't have to tell you everything, Rachel."

The girl looked rather miffed, if "rather miffed" can be taken to mean "quite offended."

"You said Kurt's dad forced Blaine to go to the hospital to talk to him?" said Tina.

"Yeah, he's been staying with us—"

"Blaine's been staying with you?" asked Puck incredulously. "Why?"

Finn mentally kicked himself. "He's, uh, got some stuff going on at home."

"Does this have anything to do with why Kurt and Blaine weren't talking?" asked Mr. Shue.

Finn nodded. "Kurt found some things out about stuff that's been going on with Blaine that Blaine's been keeping from him." He shifted his weight. "I really don't feel comfortable talking about this."

"Then you don't have to," said Mr. Shue decidedly. "We're glad to have you back and that Kurt is alright. Now, the lesson for the week is—"

*****BB*****

"You don't have to stay for it, Blaine," said David as they walked toward the choir room. "It's your first day back after everything. We understand if it's too much for you so soon."

"No," said Blaine. "I want to stay. I need to get back into the swing of things. It'll only get harder the more time I spend away. Besides, I _like_ Warbler rehearsal. I certainly like it hell of a lot more than I like history class."

Wes laughed. "Well, I can't argue with you there. Come on, then." He and David linked arms with Blaine and accompanied him into the choir room.

"Blaine!"

"Hey, man!"

"We missed you!"

"How are you?"

"How's Kurt?

"Is he coming back soon?"

"What happened?"

"Easy, easy, let the man breathe," said Wes, waving the crowd of Warblers away from the curly-haired boy. "Yes, Blaine is back with us and we're all very glad that he is. It's up to him how much he wants to tell us about why he was gone and we're all going to respect that, even if he doesn't want to talk about it at all." He and David gave the gathered boys hard looks.

Fourteen pairs of half curious, half guilty eyes turned toward Blaine.

"Kurt was attacked by some homophobes in the mall parking lot," said Blaine, resisting the urge to tug on his collar. "He was hurt pretty bad, but he's doing a lot better. I don't know when he'll be back, but he sends his love to all of you." He didn't mention that he was currently living with Kurt. That would raise questions that Blaine didn't want to deal with just yet, though he knew he couldn't keep it from his choir mates forever.

Thad cleared his throat. "Welcome back, Blaine. Now if you would please now take your position so that we can rehearse. We started a new song, but since you weren't here we put Jeff on the solo—"

"By all means," said Blaine, stepping back into line with the rest of the blazer-clad boys, for once more than happy to let someone else take the spotlight. "Be my guest."

**AN: I would really appreciate your reviews to let me know I still have an interested readership, despite my lapses in updating.**

**Thank you all so much for reading :)**

**And happy belated Valentine's Day!**

**-SQ**


	41. Chapter 41: Surprise!

**Author's Note: Guys, I am so very sorry for the increasingly long gaps between chapters. My school-related life just kind of took over and I didn't have time for fanfics. On the plus side, I discovered **_**Chuck**_** :)**

**Now it is the summer and I am doing my best to get back into writing. I will be working this summer and hopefully doing other things like hanging out with friends and exploring my options for after graduation, but I should have more time to write than during the school year.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Use your imaginations**

**Chapter Forty-One: Surprise!**

Blaine pushed open the front door, removing his shoes at the welcome mat out of habit. "Hey, I'm here," he said, not yet entirely comfortable entering this house without announcing himself.

There was a squeak from the other room and the sound of hurried footsteps. Then Kurt's head poked out from around the living room doorframe, quickly followed by the rest of him. "Surprise!"

"Kurt!" said Blaine, dropping the book bag he had slid from his shoulder in order to remove and hang up his blazer. "I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow."

"I know," said Kurt, grinning, "that's the surprised."

"How are you feeling?" asked Blaine, stepping forward and gingerly touching the faded bruising on Kurt's cheek. "I would have come home sooner if I knew you were here."

"Sore," said Kurt, "especially since they've taken me off the heavier meds, "but really glad to be home. Come on," he added, wrapping his arms around the shorter boy's waist, "you can hug me, I won't break."

Gingerly, Blaine embraced him.

"You can kiss me too if you like," said Kurt impishly.

Blaine laughed and pecked his lips.

"Mmm," said Kurt, "you taste good." He nuzzled Blaine's collar. "You smell good too." Blaine chuckled. "No, seriously, you do."

"Well, thank you." Blaine released his boyfriend, who let out a small sound of protest. "Where's your family? Surely you're not here all by yourself?"

"As if my parents and Finn would ever let that happen," said Kurt, rolling his eyes. "I don't know if I'll be alone again before I'm thirty. My dad and Finn are in the living room and Carole's in the kitchen making dinner."

Blaine picked his book bag up off the floor and followed Kurt back into the living room.

"Kurt's home!" said Finn, grinning at Blaine as he entered the room.

"Yes," said Blaine, smiling back as Kurt tugged him down on the couch beside him. "So I see."

"How was school, Blaine?" asked Burt.

"Really good, actually," said Blaine, a little thrown by the question. At home his mother was much more interested in talking about her day and his father never spoke to him at all if he could help it, unless it was to insult him. "It was good to be back. They, uh, told me about your call," he added awkwardly. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," said Burt gruffly, waving Blaine's thanks away with a calloused hand. "Just don't make me regret welcoming you into our home." He gave Blaine, who currently had his arm wrapped around Kurt's shoulders, a level look.

"No, sir," said Blaine emphatically.

"Finn, Blaine, can you come in here and set the table?" came Carole's voice from the kitchen.

"Of course," said Blaine, at the same time that Finn said "Do I have to?"

"Thank you, Blaine," said Carole pointedly. Finn made a face but followed the smaller boy into the kitchen.

"Dad," said Kurt, "why do you have to be so hard on him? He's already been through so much."

"That's why I'm being 'hard on him,' as you call it," said Burt. "That kid has a lot of potential, and obviously means a lot to you, and to Finn come to that. I don't want to see him veer onto the wrong track because no one was looking out for his best interests. An _adult_," Burt added when Kurt opened his mouth.

Kurt shut his mouth, opened it again, then shut it again and took a breath. "Thanks, Dad."

*****BB*****

David knocked on his father's study door. "Dad?"

"One sec, David."

David pushed open the door and waited while Vincent Thompson finished writing an email, clicked send, and minimized the screen. The graying but still surprisingly young-looking lawyer turned his chair around to face his son. "What's on your mind, son?"

David smiled ruefully. Nothing got past his dad; it was part of his job—both as a lawyer and a parent. The smile faded away as he collected his thoughts pertinent to the matter at hand. "It's about Blaine."

"More struggles at home?" Mr. Thompson knew that Blaine's parents weren't his biggest supporters when it came to his hobbies and his sexuality.

"Yeah," said David. "Actually…he's suing for emancipation and needs a lawyer."

"Hold on, slow down, back up. Where did this come from?" said Vincent, eyebrows nearly disappearing into the dark folds of his forehead. "On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that his dad has been physically and emotionally abusing him for more than two years."

"That is a very serious accusation, David. Where did you get this information?"

"I've seen it, Dad. I've seen the bruises and the cuts."

Vincent let his chair lean back and then spring forward again, hands cupped around his nose and mouth it thought. He had never been overly fond of his colleague, but he had respected him as a good lawyer and never would have imagined him as an abusive father. "Did Blaine ever go to anyone for help before now?"

David shook his head. "No, just Wes and me. We should have told someone, we know that now, but he said he was just going to wait it out until he graduated. And we were afraid…he didn't trust very many people and we didn't know what he'd do if we told anyone. Leo's not the only one in the family with self-control issues."

"You thought Blaine would hurt you?" said Vincent, trying to fit this new information with his images of the Andersons.

"Us? Blaine? Oh, no way," said David. "Anyway, we could take him. I think. But no, we were worried he'd hurt himself."

David's father nodded slowly. "So what changed? Is Blaine alright?" It suddenly occurred to the man that it had been a while since he had seen his son's friend around the house.

"Yeah, yes, Blaine's fine. He's been living with Kurt. That's what happened, Kurt and Finn, that's Kurt's brother, found out about Leo and told their parents. They're all set to talk to the cops and CPS only they want to get a lawyer first."

"And you thought I would do it."

"Well, yes," said David, a bit thrown by his father's tone of voice. "Blaine needs help. If he wins the emancipation he'll have enough money to pay you."

"Money isn't an issue, David," said Vincent.

"So you'll do it?"

"No."

"What? Dad, you've handled cases like this before. It's Blaine, and he needs—"

"I completely agree with you that Blaine needs a lawyer. He needs a children's justice lawyer, which, despite my scattered experience, I am not. He also needs a lawyer who does not have personal connections to the case."

"So you won't help?" said David incredulously, unable to believe what he was hearing, that his dad would let him down like this, let Blaine down like this.

"I'll make some calls."

"So, you will help?" said David.

"Of course," said Vincent, giving his son with a look that in a less cultured man could have been interpreted as _"Well, duh,"_ "it's Blaine."

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought.**

**-SQ**


	42. Chapter 42: Under Control

**Chapter Forty-Two: Under Control**

**Disclaimer: Does anyone, like, want to own **_**Glee**_** anymore? Can I maybe have just the 1****st**** three seasons or something?**

**Author's Note: So, the summer was super busy, and in the few moments of down time I had, I was not in a head space to focus on fanfiction. I will continue to write at the pace my life allows. Thank you for your patience and continued support.**

**-SQ**

Finn hadn't meant to tell the rest of the New Directions that Kurt was home from the hospital before his brother had even twenty-four hours to settle in, but Rachel called to ask him something about their history homework (why she thought he would know was beyond him; he had advised her to talk to Quinn or Mercedes instead) and somehow the news had just slipped out. Now half the McKinley glee club was gathered in the living room drinking sodas and chatting with a slightly overwhelmed but beaming Kurt. Blaine was content to let the conversation go on around him, Kurt's pale hand clasped lightly in his own. It was a bit of a surprise, then, when he found himself both the topic and addressee of the conversation.

"So, Blaine, what's the story? Finn says you're living here now." Puck waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Kurt scowled at his friend, though he couldn't stop the color rising to his ivory cheeks. "It's not like that, Puck. I haven't even been here until today."

"Finn said there was some stuff going on at home," said Mercedes, frowning slightly. "Is everything okay?"

Blaine shifted uncomfortably, not quite able to meet Kurt's (and his?) friends' well-intentioned gazes. "Uh, not really. My dad…" he licked his lips, his mouth suddenly dry. Kurt squeezed his hand reassuringly; Finn handed him a can of root beer. "My dad is abusive," said Blaine, after taking a sip of the fizzy drink. "Has been since he found out I was gay. Maybe before. Probably before. It's hard to pinpoint when it really…" he shook his head as if to clear it. "I don't live with my parents anymore. I'm suing for emancipation. Kurt, Finn, Burt, Carole—they're helping me."

There was a moment of shocked silence that seemed to stretch into infinity, and then—

"Oh _Blaine_!" And suddenly the Dalton boy was engulfed in a McKinley High group hug; he returned it awkwardly.

"That's awful."

"Good for you."

"Dads can be real dicks sometimes, who needs 'em?"

"If there's anything we can do—"

"I'm fine, really," said Blaine, a bit taken aback by the collective response.

"I don't think Blaine wants any more attention drawn to this than necessary," said Kurt.

Blaine nodded. "I really appreciate your support, but I think we've got it under control." He was by no means convinced of this, but adding more unrelated people to the picture would just turn it into a case of too many cooks, and this dish could easily turn poisonous.

"Well, we've got your back, Blaine," said Rachel with conviction, and the others nodded.

"You're not only Kurt's boyfriend," said Tina, "you're our friend."

"And no one messes with our friends and gets away with it," said Artie.

Blaine smiled almost in spite of himself. The New Directions may be a motley crew bordering on the dysfunctional, but they were a family, Kurt's family, and that made them almost impossible not to like.

*****BB*****

"How was school today?"

Blaine shrugged. "Good. You know, school-ish." He and Kurt were curled up on Kurt's bed, Blaine's fingers absently tracing the fading bruises on his boyfriend's pale skin.

"That's specific," said Kurt rolling his eyes. "Did you miss a lot while you were gone?"

"Nothing I can't manage to catch up on," said Blaine. "Why are we talking about school?" He nuzzled his nose against Kurt's cheek.

The younger boy giggled and squirmed. "Your hair tickles." He batted Blaine away. "Seriously, it's all very well for you as a second semester senior; I'm a second semester junior, miss one day and you're swamped."

"Miss no days and you're swamped," chuckled Blaine.

"Exactly," said Kurt.

"Relax, no one's going to fail you for being the victim of a hate crime," said Blaine, pulling the younger boy back against his chest. "They'll understand."

"I know," said Kurt. "It's just boring being stuck at home." He made a face and Blaine laughed.

"Well, if you're that bored," said the older boy, leaning over the side of the bed to unzip his backpack, "why don't you help me with my homework?"

*****BB*****

The five of them—Blaine, Kurt, Finn, Carole, and Burt—were sat down to dinner the next night when Kurt casually said, tacked on to a request for Finn to pass the mashed potatoes, "I've decided to go back to school on Monday."

"What?" said Finn, his mouth full of steak and potatoes.

"Finn, can you please pass the mashed potatoes. Also, I've decided that want to go back to school on Monday," Kurt repeated clearly, holding out an expectant hand for the requested item.

"Are you sure about that, sweetie?" said Carole. "You've only been home for a few days; you're still on pain meds."

"There's no rush," said Burt, frowning slightly. "I've talked to the headmaster and he's very willing to make accommodations. If you're worried about your schoolwork, maybe your teachers can send it home with Blaine."

"It's more than my schoolwork, Dad," said Kurt. "It's boring here, and lonely. I miss my friends. All I have to do all day is think about what happened to me. I want to move on."

"These things take time, Kurt," said Blaine. "That's okay. Taking on too many things again too fast isn't a good idea."

"He likes those things," Finn spoke up. "He wants to do them."

"It's not always that easy," Blaine snapped. He turned back to Kurt, his voice gentler. "You're not going to be able to avoid it by going back to school, babe. People are curious; they stare, they ask questions. You're not ready to handle that."

"Why don't you let Kurt decide what he's ready to handle?" challenged Finn.

"Blaine, sit down. Finn, don't raise your voice at the table," chided Carole.

Blaine, who had half risen from his seat, reluctantly sunk back into it. Finn cast his eyes around for something to look at besides Blaine, lit upon the dish of mashed potatoes, and held it out to Kurt.

"Thank you, Finn," said Kurt, taking the bowl and spooning a large second portion onto his plate. "I want to go back," he said firmly, casting his gaze around the table. "Maybe I'm not ready. Maybe I'll never be one hundred percent prepared, but it's just going to get harder to get back to normal the longer I'm away. And just because they ask questions doesn't mean I have to answer them."

There was a weighty silence in which Finn and Blaine avoided looking directly at each other.

"Well," said Carole finally, "you'd better figure out where you've put all your school books, then. Once you've finished those potatoes you just put on your plate."

**AN: But nothing happened! I know, this fic moves kinda slowly; we are getting there. Thanks for reading, thanks more for reviewing :)**

**-SQ**


	43. Chapter 43: Date

**Author's Note: Uf, summer isn't conducive to writing, the school year isn't conducive to writing, and I don't have high hopes about the Christmas season, haha. I am still writing though, and this story is drawing to a close. I haven't quite worked out the ending yet, but after 43 chapters I think it's about time to start heading in that direction. But not just yet! So read on :)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I didn't receive Glee as an early Christmas gift.**

**Chapter Forty-Three: Date**

School went better than Kurt had expected. He had a sneaking a suspicion that Blaine, Wes, and David had gotten the word out not to ask him about the attack, but he didn't mind that in the least. Being back at school was exhausting, but it was nice to have something else to think about. Not that no one asked him anything, they were only human after all, but it was mostly the kind of general questions anyone would get after being in the hospital and missing school; mostly variations on "How are you doing?"

As he had predicted, Kurt had a small mountain of work to catch up on, but luckily his teachers were understanding, though not undemanding, and his classmates were more than happy to help him catch up with all of it. The perpetrators had still not been caught, and at this point no one had very high hopes that they would be; Kurt spent more time looking over his shoulder than was healthy, even at Dalton where he knew he was safe. He refused to go back to the mall where the incident had taken place, and no one pressured him to.

Meanwhile, Blaine's suit against his parents was going ahead. It was no surprise to anyone that, once he had caught wind of the lawsuit, Leo Anderson had cut off Blaine's access to the family funds. This, according to Blaine's lawyer, was actually a good thing, since it bolstered the case against him. The Montgomerys and the Thompsons were more than happy to pay Blaine's legal costs, in fact they wouldn't hear otherwise. They even pitched in for Kurt's medical bills. Dalton Academy, meanwhile, staunchly refused to give the Andersons a refund on Blaine's tuition.

Blaine and his lawyer, an elegant but down-to-earth woman in her mid-thirties who insisted that they call her by her first name, Pam, gave his statement to CPS. This made Blaine feel a little silly, as he was not a "child" anymore, but he was a minor, and, as Linda, his caseworker pointed out the abuse had been going on since he was twelve years old.

"Blaine," it was Pam, calling Blaine on his cell phone. She always called him and not Burt or Carole; she said it was important for him to feel in charge of his own case. "Blaine, they've set a court date. It's May seventh at eleven am."

Blaine swallowed hard, his ears suddenly ringing. This is what they had been working toward for a month, he should feel happy, or at least relieved, but all he felt was terrified. "Alright," he managed to say into the phone. Kurt looked on in concerned interest. "Alright, thanks Pam."

"What did Pam say?" asked Kurt when Blaine had hung up the phone.

"They've set a court date," said Blaine, exhaling heavily. "May seventh."

"That's great," said Kurt. "It's about time."

"I know," said Blaine. "But it means I have to see him again. I'm scared," he admitted.

"Blaine," said Kurt, resting a hand on the older boy's thigh, "we'll be right there with you. Me and Finn and our parents, and Pam and Linda. He can't hurt you anymore."

"I know," said Blaine again. He shivered and Kurt wrapped his arms around him.

"It'll all be over soon," said Kurt. Blaine nodded, but it was hard to believe that it would ever be over.

*****BB*****

"Alright Warblers," Wes banged his gavel for attention, "it's time to start preparing for the Spring Alumni Concert."

Blaine glanced excitedly at Kurt. This would be the junior's first Dalton Academy Alumni Concert.

Thad continued where Wes had left off. "This is our most important performance of the semester, so we have arranged a set list comprising our best selections of the semester. Additionally, we have selected two new songs to be our opener and closer. That means we're going to need all hands on deck to put this thing together. Can we do this?"

A chorus of cheers went up from the assembled choristers.

"That's what we like to hear," said David. "Today we want to run everything we already know from the program and we'll start teaching the new numbers. Solo auditions for those pieces will be held Thursday afternoon before rehearsal."

*****BB*****

It was a solid set list. As the newest member of the ensemble, Kurt didn't have any solos yet, but Blaine certainly did, and watching his boyfriend in the spotlight was almost as good as being there himself. Almost. Kurt still had his eye on the two new songs though, especially "I'm Alive"from _Next to Normal_, which was both the opening number of the set and, well, "I'm Alive" from _Next to Normal_.

"Alright team, that's a wrap," said Wes, earning him disapproving looks from his fellow council members. "Go home and practice those songs, prepare for those solo auditions, and mark your calendars for May seventh. We'll see you back here on Wednesday."

Blaine froze with his messenger back halfway lifted onto his shoulder. "What did you say?"

"Alright team, that's a wrap—"

"No, the last part," said Blaine. "The date."

"May seventh," said Wes. "It should be in your calendar."

Blaine swore, looking stricken.

"What's wrong?" asked David in concern. "Blaine, is everything okay?"

"No," said Blaine. He dropped his bag again and down heavily, curly head in his hand. "No, it's not." He looked around to make sure there was no one left in the room but him, Kurt, and the council members. "May seventh is the day of my dad's trial."

Thad, who was putting the podium and gavel away in the supply closet, paused and looked between Blaine and David but wisely decided that he could wait to be filled in.

"Shit," said Kurt, who had just put the pieces together himself. "Shit, shit, shit."

Wes and David exchanged a look that spoke of the same sentiment.

"We can't change the date of the Alumni Concert, Blaine," said David. "It's just not possible."

"I can't change the day of the trial!"

"Of course not, we never said you should," said Wes. "That's really important."

"So is the concert," said Blaine, his head still in his hands. "What time is it?"

"The concert?" said Wes. "Seven pm. When's your dad's trial?"

"Eleven in the morning," said Blaine. "But who knows how long it's going to take."

"There's a chance we could be done in time for the concert," said Kurt.

"But there's a chance you won't be," said David. "We can't plan on you being there. We're going to have to recast your solos, Blaine. I'm sorry."

Blaine nodded, finally lifting his head. "But there's no reason for Kurt to miss it. This is your first Alumni Concert. They're great for showcasing talent and making connections."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Kurt. "There'll be other concerts. Maybe we'll still make it, but I'll be with you in any case, as long as the trial takes."

Blaine swallowed around the lump of fear and disappointment in his throat. "Thanks. You can tell Thad, by the way," he added to Wes and David. "He must be thoroughly confused."

This elicited a small chuckle and the four boys left the choir room feeling just slightly less depressed.

**AN: Hey guys, this is kind of a shameless plug, but it's also not really for myself, so that makes it okay, right? Lol. One of my best friends at school is a film major/aspiring writer/director and has recently actually got some backing for his projects. He was contracted to do some fan trailers and the first one just went up online. It's a Batman v. Superman trailer as if the fans were in charge of the movie. You can find it at **

**www . youtube watch?v = xFFXKfwMxnQ (just delete the spaces) **

**or by going to the Cut it Films youtube channel and clicking on the video titled Batman v. Superman – Extended Trailer [How We Would Have Done It].**

**We'd love it if as many people as possible watched and shared it. It's about a ten minute film. I am in it briefly as Black Canary (it's brief but hard to miss, I scream, lol) and was involved behind the scenes during a lot of the filming. My friend Joe is the mastermind behind the writing, directing, and editing (as well as playing Superman), so if you like his work you can check out the other videos on the Cut it Films youtube channel. Thanks for your support and Happy Holidays!**

**-SQ**


End file.
